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. 

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Preparing for unpredictable precipitation
    August 18, 2015
    ITS solutions are helping streamline winter road maintenance for Delaware and Illinois, two states that must deal with dynamic weather and varying snowfall totals. Andrew Bardin Williams reports. Wilmington and Newark (pronounced new-ark) are two vastly different cities that sit on opposite ends of Delaware. Newark is a sleepy university town of roughly 30,000 residents abutting the state’s western border with Maryland and Pennsylvania, and often gets confused with its larger namesake in New Jersey.
  • Welsh default 20mph limit leads to 4mph drop in driver speed
    February 22, 2024
    Transport for Wales' preliminary figures show average reduction in first three months
  • Work begins on Johannesburg’s Great Walk Bridge
    March 9, 2015
    Construction has begun on a US$10.7 million pedestrian and cycling bridge over one of Africa's busiest highways in Johannesburg. ‘The Great Walk Bridge’ will form part of a dedicated five kilometre pedestrian and cycling path from the heart of Alexandra to the centre of the Sandton central business district - providing a quicker, safer route for the estimated 10,000 people who walk or cycle between the two areas daily. Construction, which is being implemented by the Johannesburg Development Agency (JDA) on
  • Intertraffic Awards 2022: shortlist announced!
    February 4, 2022
    Winners will be revealed at the opening ceremony of Intertraffic Amsterdam in March