Skip to main content

Pedestrian footfall falls for King Charles' coronation

VivaCity data shows less than half as much movement as for Queen's Jubilee last year
By Adam Hill May 10, 2023 Read time: 2 mins
Coronation data: less walking this time (© Andrew Sutherland | Dreamstime.com)

VivaCity has unlocked some intriguing findings from monitoring people movement in London, UK, last Saturday.

It found that pedestrian footfall along the route of King Charles III's coronation procession in the UK capital was under half of that seen at the late Queen Elizabeth's Platinum Jubilee in the city.

While pedestrian footfall was up 77% compared to the average Saturday, it was 42% lower footfall than the than for the Queen’s celebration in 2022.
 
Gathered anonymously by AI-powered sensors, the information came from popular London locations Westminster and Constitution Hill: the sensors recorded a peak of 4,250 pedestrians for last weekend's celebrations, compared to 10,000 people at the event last year.

The peak last Saturday came during the King's procession to the palace from Westminster Abbey. 

There was a spike in pedestrian traffic from 6-8am, coinciding with the opening of viewing areas to see the procession - with movement picking up again to its highest level at 2pm when crowds made their way to Buckingham Palace to catch a glimpse of the Royals on the balcony.

VivaCity says footfall in areas surrounding Buckingham Palace was twice as high when the Royal Family appeared on the balcony during Queen Elizabeth’s Platinum Jubilee event, compared to the King's coronation ceremony on Saturday.

Compared to average data from January to May this year, the coronation saw car usage down by 85% compared to typical use on a Saturday, with a 77% increase in pedestrian activity near the possession route recorded. 

Related Content

  • January 23, 2023
    VivaCity captures simple zebra data
    Sensors will help establish VRU/driver behaviour changes at 'non-prescribed' crossings
  • January 30, 2012
    Mounting benefits of dynamic tolling project
    Wisconsin's four-year HOT lanes pilot project, launched in May 2008, cost US$18.8 million to construct. Halfway into the project, which uses variably priced, or dynamic, tolling to improve highway efficiency, the benefits are mounting. The problem was obvious, and frustrating, to anyone who ever sat in bumper-to-bumper traffic on State Route 167 and watched a lone car whiz by every 20 seconds or so in the carpool lane. But for planners at the Washington State Department of Transportation, the conundrum was
  • June 16, 2020
    Speed limits: is 20 really plenty?
    Speed kills – which means cutting speed should cut collisions. But is it that simple?
  • July 7, 2017
    Bristol’s buses trial CycleEye detection system
    Fusion Processing’s Jim Hutchinson looks at a two-year trial of the company’s cyclist detection system. Is cycling in a city dangerous? Well, that depends where you are and how you view statistics. Malmö is far more bike-friendly than Mumbai and the risk can either be perceived as small - one death per 29 million miles cycled in the UK in 2013 - or large - that equated to 109 deaths in the same year. Whatever your personal take on the data, the effect of these accidents can be felt indirectly too. News of c