Where is Bishop’s Bridge Road?

The A4206 Bishop’s Bridge Road is a two-way road with two lanes in both eastbound and westbound directions. It is a strategic traffic route linking Westway and Harrow Road to the east and Westbourne Grove to the east, and carries over 10,000 vehicles, including over 500 HGVs, per day. As a strategic route, the road is dominated by high volumes of vehicular through-traffic including taxis gaining access to the Paddington Station taxi facility.

The road also carries buses and commuter/airport coaches, as well as providing a key cycling corridor for over 500 cyclists per day. The road lies to the north of Paddington Station, a major transport hub for both London and national journeys, and is now an operating Elizabeth line station, generating considerable growth in the number of visitors and commuters in the area.

The site is located within the Paddington Opportunity Area and neighbours a number of notable local landmarks, including Grade I listed Paddington Station, the Brunel Building, Sheldon Square, and the Paddington Arm of the Grand Union Canal, which attracts tens of thousands of visitors to the canalside every year.

Bishop’s Bridge Road dissects Paddington. Over 1,200 homes are within one minute’s walk of Bishop’s Bridge Road, alongside just under 2.5 million sq. ft of office space. Pupils and students attend a number of schools and colleges, including Marylebone Boys’ School, Westminster Academy, City of Westminster College, Hallfield Primary School, Phileas Fox Nursery and L’Ecole Bilingue Elementary.

Over 25,000 people work in Paddington, spread across a broad range of sectors including financial, engineering, pharmaceutical, retail, technology, telecommunications, health science, transport, sport, music and media. The area is undergoing significant transformation and in the Opportunity Area development pipeline alone, a further 1.4 million sq. ft of office space is planned, plus a further 1,200 hotel rooms. Footfall is forecast to increase further once more developments are completed and the Elizabeth line is fully operational as a through service.

Pedestrian and Cycle Movement Survey

In Spring 2022, The Paddington Partnership commissioned NRP to undertake a pedestrian movement survey to gain a greater understanding of pedestrian and cycle movements on and around Bishop’s Bridge Road.

The study also explored the extent of footway crowding adjacent to the coach and bus stops on the southern side of the street where there are often a number of obstructions.

The study indicated extensive crossing at informal crossing points, and higher than average levels of crossing on the ‘red man’ at controlled crossings.

You can view pedestrian crossing behaviour at the morning and afternoon peaks below:

The study identified that crossing demand at these uncontrolled locations makes up, in total, around 20-25% of the total volume of people crossing Bishop’s Bridge Road in the vicinity of the access junction. Therefore, given the proximity to various schools, public transport facilities and new developments, there is a strong case for providing improved crossing facilities.

The traffic surveys showed that peak hour cycle flows are around 20-30 cyclists per hour in each direction, with cyclists mixing with general traffic, including HGVs, buses and coaches. The total two-way traffic flow in the peak hours is up to 1,500 vehicles per hour, and the proportion of HGVs/buses/coaches can exceed 5%. When considering guidance set out in DfT LTN 1/20 Cycle infrastructure design, TfL London Cycle Design Standards and the TfL New cycle route quality criteria, these high traffic values warrant consideration of some form of segregated cycle facility.

A noticeable lack of segregated cycle lanes

The study also considered footway width and pavement clutter. The effective footway width is below standard at several locations, with multiple examples of poorly located street furniture, which make it sensitive to congestion and low levels of pedestrian comfort particularly around the coach stops.

Obstructions in the centre of the pavement

Who are the Paddington Partnership?

The Paddington Partnership is a voluntary grouping of the main landowners and companies in Paddington, working to regenerate, promote and connect across the area.

Public realm projects such as this one on Bishop’s Bridge Road aim to make Paddington more welcoming and accessible for people who live, work and go to school here.

Estates and campuses within the Partnership area, such as Paddington Central and Merchant Square have lively and engaging events programmes all year round. The Partnership’s popular Explore Paddington magazine and Eating Out Guide is accompanied by regularly updated maps and trails for all to use.

The Partnership’s Community Programme connects companies with charities, social enterprises and schools to ensure that local communities benefit from continued growth and investment, through volunteering, team challenges and long term partnerships.