Hyde Park road, once popular taxi shortcut, set to be permanently closed to vehicles

A road through Hyde Park is set to be closed to vehicles permanently as efforts continue to restrict traffic in London’s green spaces.

A six-week online consultation opened on Monday on banning vehicles from South Carriage Drive seven days a week.

The road has traditionally been closed on Sundays. Since August 2020 it has also been closed on Saturdays and during the week on a temporary basis, mainly to prevent drivers coming into conflict with cyclists using the controversial Park Lane cycle lane.

The Royal Parks, the charity that oversees Hyde Park, is asking Londoners whether they want the weekday closure of South Carriage Drive to be made permanent.

This is to “ensure that pedestrians and cyclists experience a safe and welcoming entrance to the park every day”.

Prior to the pandemic, it was a favourite shortcut for taxi drivers seeking to avoid getting delayed at Knightsbridge when travelling between Kensington and Hyde Park Corner.

Face-to-face surveys will also be conducted at key locations within Hyde Park. Transport for London’s flagship CS3 cycleway, which links Barking and Lancaster Gate via Parliament Square and Tower Hill, runs along South Carriage Drive.

When TfL introduced a “pop up” cycle lane along the length of Park Lane in 2020 to encourage cycling during the pandemic, the Royal Parks temporarily closed South Carriage Drive on a seven-days-a-week basis “to address safety concerns between cars and cyclists”.

Darren Share, director of parks at the Royal Parks, said: “As custodians of Hyde Park, we have a duty of care to provide a safe space for all visitors.

“Following consultation on Saturday closures, we received significant feedback from consultees to request a permanent closure across all days of the week.  Considering this, and the significant increase in cycle traffic now using the park, we felt it was only right to ask the community for their views.”

TfL decided last July to make the Park Lane cycle lane permanent, despite objections from motorists who claim it causes congestion on Park Lane.

Tory mayoral candidate Susan Hall has vowed to axe it if she is elected in May.

In October 2022, the Royal Parks permanently adopted more road closures in parks including Richmond Park, Greenwich Park and Bushy Park.

However campaigners including the London Cycling Campaign believe that Richmond Park should have a total ban on vehicles.

- The South Carriage Drive consultation can be found here.