LONDON'S TRAFFIC BAROMETER.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXXVIII, Issue 11644, 4 May 1901, Page 5 (Supplement)

LONDON'S TRAFFIC BAROMETER.

WHERE ARE THE BUSIEST SPOTS IS. LONDON? Which is the busiest spot in London? Each one has his own opinion, but the London County Council has taken the trouble to get the actual figures, and these are certainly decisive., The word busiest in this connection means where do the most trams and omnibuses converge? The figures published by the Council show the exact number of 'trams ad omnibuses per hour which arrive at the principal points of the County of London and the number, of passengers they contain. The Bank of England corner can claim to be the busiest spot in London. No other spot can claim an average of over 700 vehicles passing it in an hour with nearly, 10,000 passenger's. The spot outside Charing Cross Station comes next in point of traffic pressure with an hourly average of 692 vehicles and 8996 passengers. Piccadilly Circus is not far behind, and has 643 vehicles wearing down its road each hour, containing 8359 fares. Oxford Circusbefore the tube —boasted of 627 vehicles every sixty minutes and 8151 passengers. These four points are the busiest in the County of London, judged by their vehicular traffic. They all number over 600 th 9 hour. Then comes a big drop. The number of places which have between 500 and 600 vehicles each hour are only two. The Elephant and Castle corner, south of the Thames, has an average of 597 vehicles and 9551 passengers. The whole length of Ox-ford-street has 569 vehicles and 7397 passengers. When we come to places which have between 400 and 500 vehicles passing per hour we find many competitorsamong .them Liverpool-street, London Bridge, King Wil-liam-street,. Strand. Victoria Station, Re-gent-street. Piccadilly, Holborn, and the Mjirble Arch. The following streets are still less popular with the 'busman and tram-driver, and have only 300 to 400 vehicles per hour: — Cheapside (G.P.O. corner), Ludgate Circus, Fleet-street. Parliament-street, Pall Mall East, Hyde Park corner, Tvnightsbridge, Newgate-street, Holborn Viaduct, New Ox* ford-street, Angel, and St. George's Circus. The streets which have less traffic than those named are almost too numerous to mention. But the. following figures give the other side of the picture, and show where tnere is the least pressure in the way of vehicular traffic. In the Bayswater Road there are only 49 vehicles passing per hour; in Coruhill, only 46 ; Park-street, Camdentown, 45 ; Putney High-street. 45 ; and, least of all, the Tower Bridge, which has only 25 vehicles per hour.