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Urban Design

Some Urban Observations from My London Vacation

London has plentiful rail and bus transit, plus great walkability and somewhat uneven bikeability

London’s ubiquitous double-decker bus. Photos by Joe Linton

My family and I just spent two weeks vacationing in London. As with my previous post-vacation pieces I can't claim expertise regarding London livability. But I will share some observations I think might be interesting to SBLA readers. If you enjoy this recap, check out earlier similar posts exploring Barcelona, and cities in Italy and Mexico.

We got around by train, bus, and on foot. I confess I didn't end up bicycling at all - more on this below.

London Transit: Extensive Rail

London's rail systems are so numerous that I feel like I barely became familiar with it. The main rail network is known as "The Tube," which includes several interconnected components. These interface well with National Rail which serves many London (and nearby) destinations.

Detail of London rail map - find full map at Transport for London

We used Google Maps transit directions and then easily walked to destinations. Service was frequent. Trains arrived and departed on schedule.

I feel like I was somewhat spoiled by the Tube network; using it was so easy and efficient, that I hardly formed a mental map of the city. We would just hop on and off and be transported to various locations.

London Tube train arriving at Leicester Square

The network is so extensive, it felt like every other station (especially in Central London) is some sort of transfer station. Many of the larger transfer stations (including many between the Tube and National Rail) are very pleasant covered spaces with natural light.

Victoria Station, London
Paddington Station, London
Earl's Court Station, London

As far as I can tell, all London rail and buses operate via a stored-value Oyster card, similar to Metro's TAP card. With Oyster one taps in and out and the system calculates fares based on zone-distance and time of day (peak or off-peak). Kids up to ten years old ride free with an adult.

All the rail transit we rode was open gangway; riders can easily spread out by moving between cars.

Open gangways allow riders to move between train cars
Some trains got busy, but most of the time we were able to find a seat
The automated driverless London DLR (Docklands Light Railway) line features glassed-off tracks where sliding doors open when trains stop. This system has safety benefits (preventing riders from entering the trackway) and it also reduces noise.

London Transit: Workhorse Buses

Even with extensive rail network, we often found ourselves riding the bus, generally a double-decker. It hadn't occurred to me that a double-deck bus is not just some tourist sight-seeing bauble, but is a high capacity vehicle. They are similar to Southern California articulated buses, but with a smaller footprint. (And that minimized footprint makes for smaller space needs in bus depots.)

There are plenty of bus lanes, though they feel somewhat intermittent, perhaps related to space available.

London bus lane on Fulham Palace Road
London bus lane specifically signed for bus and bike

The interface between rail and bus felt very efficient. Many rail stops also serve as bus depots (some fairly large - imagine L.A. Union Station's Patsaouras Plaza type facilities atop many subway stops).

Electronic signage and waiting areas for bus departures from four bus stops (each serving multiple bus lines) at North Greenwich DLR station

London Walkability

It may seem obvious, but I was pleasantly surprised at the walkability benefits of London's green spaces. Google walk instructions often route pedestrians efficiently through parks - large and small - and even cemeteries. Cutting through these car-free spaces makes for a cooler tree-lined walk.

London walking directions often included routes through parks large and small
Perhaps we lucked out with sunny mild summer weather, but I was impressed to see how heavily used many London parks are.

London Bicycling

To me, bicycling conditions in London felt uneven.

There are definitely safe places to bike, including bike paths, protected bikeways, and quiet neighborhood streets. But, from my not-biking viewpoint, there were also a lot of fairly heavily trafficked places that did not appear very conducive to cycling.

There are bike lanes where I would feel safe riding with my family: barrier-protected bikeways.

Concrete-barrier protected bike lanes on London's Southwark Bridge

And unprotected bike lanes that I would be okay with, but would probably worry about my daughter's safety.

Unprotected bike lane in central London

Unsurprisingly, the better - longer and more protected - the bikeways, the more riders I observed. A few streets have been designated "cycle super-highways."

Curb-protected bicycle super-highway along Blackfriars Road
Cycle super-highway leading over the Blackfriars Bridge over the Thames River
Two-way protected bikeway leading to/from the Blackfriars Road bikeway
In some locations cyclists and pedestrians share paths. In my observation, these spaces were predominantly pedestrian places, with a few slow-speed cyclists negotiating for space.

Lastly here are some examples of London bicycle parking.

I saw more than a dozen of these covered bike parking structures located in the public right-of-way (generally in a parking spot)
Covered bike parking structure
There are also plenty of uncovered bike areas, including some located in areas where cars probably would have been parking

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