# Strolling through London... **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [August 27, 2002, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strolling-through-london/125779 "2002-08-27T14:42:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Ringo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/779978/32.png) [@Ringo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ringo)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2002, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strolling-through-london/125779/1 "2002-08-27T14:42:33Z")
[London traffic slows to 3mph](http://www.thisislondon.com/dynamic/news/story.html?in_review_id=679070&in_review_text_id=651447) (new link - may not last very long) > [@](#): > > Traffic in central London is moving at an average of 2.9mph - no faster than a stroll, an Evening Standard survey reveals today. ---
**Author:** ![rocking\_chair](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rocking_chair/32/2918_2.png) [@rocking\_chair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rocking_chair)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2002, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strolling-through-london/125779/2 "2002-08-27T23:49:33Z")
dang tourists! ---
**Author:** ![Loopus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loopus/32/15343_2.png) [@Loopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loopus)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2002, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strolling-through-london/125779/3 "2002-08-28T01:34:37Z")
I never thought I would appeciate Houston’s traffic. ---
**Author:** ![Celyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9dc877/32.png) [@Celyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Celyn)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2002, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strolling-through-london/125779/4 "2002-08-28T01:42:19Z")
Oh happy happy joy joy no longer to be in London! 🙂 Glasgow has too much traffic too, but um, Glasgow is less bad than London 'cos there is less of it! \ 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Biba](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/85f322/32.png) [@Biba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biba)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2002, 10:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strolling-through-london/125779/5 "2002-08-28T10:59:52Z")
It doesn’t suprise me, London is a nightmare, I moved away 6 years ago, I couldn’t wait. The only way we could commute from South London to the centre was on a motorbike, and I gave up using the underground. I just walked everywhere. All I was missing was a gas mask in the Summer!! ---
**Author:** ![Hattrick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/34f0e0/32.png) [@Hattrick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hattrick)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2002, 11:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strolling-through-london/125779/6 "2002-08-28T11:05:17Z")
I feel your pain Biba… moved out to bucks this year to escape from the growing hordes of cars, people, double decker busses, bus lanes and the dreaded London congestion charging. Hattrick ---
**Author:** ![owlstretchingtime](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/958977/32.png) [@owlstretchingtime](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/owlstretchingtime)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2002, 11:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strolling-through-london/125779/7 "2002-08-28T11:51:17Z")
THis is another of those surveys that makes one question one’s own sanity. I live in London and travel in central London every day. 3mph is walking speed and I have never been able to out walk a bus over any reasonable distance. London is car-choked, but not this bad. ---
**Author:** ![handy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b5a626/32.png) [@handy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handy)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2002, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strolling-through-london/125779/8 "2002-08-28T16:15:40Z")
Someone posted a message here one time that when they blew their nose in London their snot was somewhat a light charcoal gray, is this from the smog? Don’t they have emission regulations there? ---
**Author:** ![Zorro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/ad7895/32.png) [@Zorro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zorro)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2002, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strolling-through-london/125779/9 "2002-08-28T16:16:35Z")
I don’t know, it can be pretty bloody awful. All it takes is one broken down bus in the wrong place and the whole shebang goes tits up. I once spent an hour going down that street that comes off Shaftesbury Avenue on to Piccadilly Circus. That was a pain in the arse, it was only about 100 metres. ---
**Author:** ![Crusoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/49beb7/32.png) [@Crusoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crusoe)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2002, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strolling-through-london/125779/10 "2002-08-28T16:24:04Z")
**handy** , yep, there are regulations, but on hot, smoggy days they don’t make a damn difference. I’ve had the same experience in parts of Sydney and Los Angeles, so I doubt London is unique. I get the bus all the time in London, and it’s usually fairly trouble-free (admittedly, I do travel in early in the morning and leave around 5ish). The roadworks around Russell Square were a nightmare but are complete now, although Trafalgar Square and Whitehall are a living hell and likely to remain that way for many, many months. I’m not catching a 24 bus again to Victoria. ---
**Author:** ![Biba](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/85f322/32.png) [@Biba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biba)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2002, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strolling-through-london/125779/11 "2002-08-28T16:53:49Z")
The nose thing, from my experience, was from travelling on the underground. I haven’t used it for a number of years, but it was pretty filthy, with very old tunnels and from years of use. I imagine there must be over a hundred years of soot floating around there. ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2002, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strolling-through-london/125779/12 "2002-08-28T17:35:02Z")
Probably a hundred years of snot too. Hey Biba, how’s the cat? Wonderful to see you here.