(Drivebycuriosity) - I am back from London where I stayed 6 weeks. I love this city - there is so much to see & to discover. But there is one issue: London`s traffic is awful. Tourists are potential roadkill. Cars drive way too fast. There seems to be no speed limits. At least they are not enforced, I didn`t notice any traffic control. Cop cars were just racing to some distant destinations. What made it worse, many cars speed around some hidden corners, you don´t see them coming. Motorbike riders drive even more aggressively. And even if there are no cars & motorbikes, you get endangered by flocks of cyclists who seem to be on a race. I have never seen so many fast bike riders.
I live in Manhattan which has less traffic and car drivers & bicyclists ride less aggressively. Maybe they are tamed by frequent police controls. But I was wondering why London´s traffic is so awful - at least for hiking tourists. I think there is an economic explanation.
New York City is very dense. Many people live on a square mile (17,000). Manhattan has a extremely high density: 73,000 people per square mile (wikipedia ). Therefore people have to cross relatively short distances to commute to working places, for shopping, leisure and else. In the contrary London is spread around huge parks and palaces. And I didn`t notice many residential towers. Most Londoners live in buildings which are not higher than 4 floors (below a thoroughfare in the Bayswater neighborhood). Therefore London`s density is lower than in New York City (14,500 people per square mile). On average Londoners need to cross larger distances than New Yorkers for commuting, leisure and so.
The vast distances force Londoners to commute a lot and fast, even though there is a passable subway, called Underground (better than in New York). London is beautiful but also inefficient, her geography creates a lot of traffic which is expensive and damages the environment.
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