On 15 Jan 2006 08:46:24 -0800, "Neil Williams"
wrote:

Phil Clark wrote:

I fit a half hour walk from Waterloo to Green Park into my schedule
(and back again in the evening). I reckon I get an hour's exercise a
day for the net expenditure of around half that - I have to allow 20
minutes on the way home for the tube; walking, 35 minutes gets me
there easily.

Fair enough - looks like that works for you. I used to walk to work
when I lived about 2.5 miles from it; now I work further away (about
5.5 miles) I cycle or drive instead, as to walk would take something
like an hour and a half each way, which is a little excessive.

You're right - it works for me, your journey works by bike. I now get
a perverse pleasure every time I find I haven't used my Oyster all
week (this week I'll slip as I'll probably catch a bus back from Fleet
Street to Waterloo. It is walkable, but I'd rather be able to stay in
the pub for longer!)

Central London traffic isn't *that* bad on a bike, as you can usually
go faster than the rest of it, so speed isn't as much of a threat as it
is elsewhere. However, I can see why walking would be preferable, as
you do still need your wits about you!

There are plenty of places where the facilities for pedestrians are
poor, for example around Centrepoint. There's also two points on my
walking route that are not ideal - one is the front entrance to
Waterloo where you have to cross four roads and six lanes of traffic
to get to the Jubilee Bridge, and the central reservation on York Way
is far too narrow. The other is Trafalgar Square where the traffic
light phasing can mean it takes an age to get from one side to the
other, and this encourages pedestrians to nip across against a green
traffic light.