Elevated A40 Westway Shepherds Bush>Paddington: Do you ride it?

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Mile195

Veteran
Location
West Kent
Hi everyone. Been a while since I popped in... hope everyone's well!

Over the last 10 years I've watched the speed limit on the Westway drop step-by-step from 70mph down to a soul-crushing average-limit-enforced 30 mph. It's a right bore on a motorbike. But its not as boring as pedalling amongst the melee of traffic lights, taxis, buses, scooters and camera-wielding tourists on the parallel route down Bayswater Road, which I sometimes use if I want to stop in central london on my commute from Ealing to Bexleyheath.

While clearly the junction with the A3220 has very much been built for the car, I don't actually see any "unsuitable for cyclists" signs on Google street view. And with the average speed check along the whole section to Paddington, I'd actually feel pretty comfortable pedalling along there.

Does anybody else ride it with any regularity? If so, how much abuse do you get from drivers who wrongly believe it's a motorway, and would you recommend it as a decent alternative to the congested streets underneath more generally?
 

mjr

Comfy armchair to one person & a plank to the next
While clearly the junction with the A3220 has very much been built for the car, I don't actually see any "unsuitable for cyclists" signs on Google street view. And with the average speed check along the whole section to Paddington, I'd actually feel pretty comfortable pedalling along there.
Hi and welcome back. There are no-cycling and no-walking signs for A40 Westway elevated section visible on Street View at the junctions with A219 Wood Lane, A402 Holland Park Avenue and A5 Edgware Road and probably others. They're not all placed where I'd expect to find them, but I expect there's enough to risk a fine if the traffic police catch you.

The bus lanes on A404 Harrow Road underneath the Westway appear to be fair game, if you're a faster cyclist. I'd probably plod along Talbot Road parallel to the south. In general, Kensington seems a disaster zone for cycling, a decade or more behind the rest of London. I guess the borough council are still being daffodils.
 

Ian H

Ancient randonneur
I've always just blatted along the Uxbridge Rd, over the roundabout into Holland Park Ave, and turned left at some random point towards Paddington... well, Euston was my usual destination, but the main rules still apply.
 

slowmotion

Quite dreadful
Location
lost somewhere
It's just down the road from here.
Cycling isn't allowed on the elevated section. From Shepherds Bush, ride up Holland Park Avenue to Notting Hill Gate and continue along Bayswater Road to Sussex Gardens, a turning to the left. Ride up there for a bit and then turn left to get to Praed Street......et voila! It's quite a pleasant jaunt.
 

yello

Guest
Once upon a time, back in the day, I used to ride from Marylebone to Eastcote, sometimes going Holland Park, Shepherds Bush, Uxbridge Rd then cut through Acton up to the A40 then thru Park Royal, Hanger Lane etc to cross the A40 at Northolt - so a fair section on the south side of A40, mainly shared footpath and some track. But that was 15 odd years ago so I'm sure it's changed.

Shepherds Bush roundabout was fun though. I remember that.
 
OP
OP
Mile195

Mile195

Veteran
Location
West Kent
Thanks all for your thoughts; appreciated.
I hadn't seen those signs on the elevated section, but spotted them on street-view now. Shame really. The road is totally different to how it was when those signs presumably went up.
Re other routes, it's Uxbridge Road, Holland Park Ave and Bayswater Road that I'm trying to avoid really. Just so stop-start... bad for the knees.
This said, I've started using more of the A4 between Earls Court Road and then the B455 at Brentford. I used to come off at Hammersmith Gyratory then through Acton.
Still got to come off at the gyratory as no bicycles allowed on the overpass. However, from the other side all the way to Brentford is a relatively uninterrupted 4 mile blast or so where you can just get your head down and pedal. So that's saved me a bit of stopping and starting on my way in to work.
 

rogerzilla

Legendary Member
I have cycled on it by accident because there are no signs from Gloucester Terrace and, once you're in the one-way system, you have little choice. Being London, no-one batted an eyelid.
 

Solocle

Über Member
Location
Poole
I have cycled on it by accident because there are no signs from Gloucester Terrace and, once you're in the one-way system, you have little choice. Being London, no-one batted an eyelid.

Exactly the same happened to me. Got beeped by a taxi on the slip road, though.

That was while it was still 40 mph, and 10 pm at night.
 

Jameshow

Veteran
Hi and welcome back. There are no-cycling and no-walking signs for A40 Westway elevated section visible on Street View at the junctions with A219 Wood Lane, A402 Holland Park Avenue and A5 Edgware Road and probably others. They're not all placed where I'd expect to find them, but I expect there's enough to risk a fine if the traffic police catch you.

The bus lanes on A404 Harrow Road underneath the Westway appear to be fair game, if you're a faster cyclist. I'd probably plod along Talbot Road parallel to the south. In general, Kensington seems a disaster zone for cycling, a decade or more behind the rest of London. I guess the borough council are still being daffodils.

Gotta give space to the Chelsea tractors, Me thinks!!!
 
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