Skip to main content

King-sized: 263 miles of English roads closed for Charles III's coronation

Street parties would stretch further than New York to Washington, DC (if USA had a king)
By Adam Hill May 5, 2023 Read time: 3 mins
This is one street that won't be closed: the new king needs to use it to get home (© Jessica Girvan | Dreamstime.com)

One.network typically uses its platform to help transport authorities and other agencies to communicate with the travelling public.

But it has put the technology to a different use this weekend to work out that the coronation of the UK's King Charles III will result in the closures of 263 miles of England's roads.

This is to allow for street parties, where residents will brave the English weather to celebrate with their neighbours.

It has found 3,087 official street closure plans registered across 75 county councils in England.

This means that royal revellers are planning parties which would stretch from London's Westminster Abbey to Lands’ End in Cornwall - or, for US royal watchers, further than the distance between New York and Washington, DC.

"It would take nearly three days to walk down just one side of the table, without stopping for cake," the company helpfully points out.

Hampshire and Kent are paired in first place as the most celebratory counties, with 251 street official plans submitted each.

BCP (Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole) and West Sussex tie for second place with 180 each.

Devon, with 146 plans, is not far behind them.

According to One.network’s data, the most popular celebration day of the coronation weekend will be Sunday (when 62% of parties) will be taking place, followed by Saturday (the day of the coronation itself with 27%) and Monday (11%). 

“Organising a street party is hard enough, but local councils should be given a huge hand for their great efforts in facilitating this country-wide celebration," says James Harris, CEO of One.network.

"With their hard work approving and managing road closures the country can party safely, whilst minimising disruption for road users.” 

What are the top 10 English counties for King Charles coronation street closures?

       Highway Authority Name    Number of Plans
1     Hampshire County Council                     251
2     Kent County Council                               251
3     Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole   180
4     West Sussex County Council                  180
5     Devon County Council                            146
6     Leicestershire County Council                141
7     Surrey County Council                            141
8     Essex County Council                             139
9     Northamptonshire County Council          125
10   Oxfordshire County Council                     91

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • ITS annual meeting - how transportation affects social issues
    August 2, 2012
    The 2010 ITS America Annual Meeting & Exposition, which will take place in Houston, Texas will offer attendees something of a contrast with the policy-driven event which took place in Washington, DC this year. Houston will go to the other end of the scale and focus on real-life technology applications and operational best practice, says event Co-Chair David Sparks
  • Project EDWARD: European Day Without A Road Death
    August 31, 2016
    The first European Day Without A Road Death (Project EDWARD) is taking place across Europe on Wednesday 21 September. Devised by the European Traffic Police Network (TISPOL), the initiative aims to draw attention to the average of 70 deaths occurring every day on the roads of Europe. Project EDWARD has the support of European Transport Commissioner Violeta Bulc, the European Commission, the European Transport Safety Council and traffic police forces from across TISPOL’s 30 member countries.
  • Covid turns tolls cashless
    December 23, 2021
    When coronavirus hit, Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission made its long-planned e-tolling system permanent; this made sense, but it was still a difficult decision, explains the organisation’s Carl DeFebo
  • "They're not Democrat bridges and Republican roads - they're all bipartisan"
    April 17, 2025
    Concerns over the potential vulnerability of GPS could have significant implications for the tolling industry. IBTTA’s Kathryn Clay explains it all to Adam Hill, and looks to the future…