A4202
A4202 | ||||
Location Map ( geo) | ||||
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Park Lane | ||||
From: | Hyde Park Corner (TQ282798) | |||
To: | Marble Arch (TQ277809) | |||
Distance: | 0.8 miles (1.3 km) | |||
Meets: | A4, A302, A402, A40, A5 | |||
Primary Destinations | ||||
Highway Authorities | ||||
Traditional Counties | ||||
Route outline (key) | ||||
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Route
Park Lane, officially the A4202, is probably one of the more well-known thoroughfares in Central London as it forms a significant section of the London Inner Ring Road. It also appears on the board game Monopoly as one of the most expensive squares - although that was created back when Park Lane was not an eight-lane dual carriageway! It seems inconceivable today that one of the capital's parks would have been built across in such a manner as this, but that was the joy of 1960s urban planning. The central reservation is unusually wide, because most of the northbound carriageway is built on top of the former East Carriage Drive.
The northbound carriageway, unlike the southbound, is four lanes wide with a 40 mph speed limit as it speeds traffic alongside the eastern edge of Hyde Park. Underneath the road are parking garages, added with the 1962 widening works. Southbound (the original road is three lanes wide plus bus lane, and has a 30 mph speed limit as it passes alongside the numerous hotels in the Mayfair district.
At the northern end is Marble Arch, and at the southern end is Hyde Park Corner. This short section of road forms the highest quality section of the Inner Ring Road.
History
The original southern end of Park Lane has been bypassed. This is now called Old Park Lane and gives an insight into how narrow the road was before the 1962 upgrade.
Incidentally, the fact that the road is numbered A4202 rather than A5 demonstrates that the boundary of the 4-zone here is the A40.