Everything about A205 Road totally explained
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A205
redirects here. For the Fujifilm A205 camera, see Fujifilm FinePix A-series.
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The
A205 or
South Circular Road is a direct route which crosses
South London,
UK, running from
Woolwich in the east to the junction of the
A406 (North Circular Road), the
M4 and the
A4 at
Gunnersbury in the west.
Together with the
North Circular Road, the South Circular forms a ring road through the inner part of
Outer London. This ring road doesn't make a complete circuit of the city, as the crossing of the
River Thames in the east is made on the
Woolwich Ferry.
Unlike the North Circular, the South Circular isn't a purpose-built route, but a collection of pre-existing suburban roads joined together, which has resulted in a disjointed feel, with several abrupt junctions.
History
The South Circular Road was first proposed in
Sir Patrick Abercrombie's County of London Plan of
1943, as the southern half of one of a number of
ring roads around the capital. Abercrombie designated it as the "C Ring" (the third ring out from the city centre); however, the plan for a high-quality road wasn't realised and the semi-circular route was assigned to existing roads through the southern suburbs; these roads retain their historic names.
Ringway 2
In the
1960s, Abercrombie's plans were revived by the
Greater London Council (GLC) as the
London Ringways Plan which proposed the construction of a series of motorways in and around London to control traffic congestion. The existing A205 route was recognised as being unsuitable for upgrading and a new motorway,
Ringway 2, was planned for construction further south. Due to the destruction required and cost involved in the proposed plans the majority of the Ringway Plans were cancelled in the early
1970s including Ringway 2. The route remains mainly single carriageway and the chances of any upgrades to the road are considered small at best.
Bus Lanes
The majority of the South Circular Road is single carriageway, one lane each way, aside from a small section of dual carriageway near the
Woolwich ferry. Some of the wider sections of the road as it travels through
Brixton,
Clapham and
Bermondsey which formerly were single carriageway, albeit with two lanes each way have had the outside lanes turned into bus lanes. This has an adverse effect on the traffic flow, and has increased congestion and journey times in many areas. However it's the policy of
Transport for London (TFL) to encourage the use of public transport, and reduce car journeys within the capital.
Route
The route starts just south of the
Woolwich Ferry where the
A2204 Ferry Approach road and the
A206 meet.
The route goes south, climbing up John Wilson Street, a section of
dual carriageway, until it meets Grand Depot Road when it becomes a
single carriageway and travels south west along
Woolwich Common and Academy Road past the former
Royal Military Academy. After crossing over the A207/Shooters Hill Road, the route goes along Well Hall Road until the roundabout junction with Rochester Way, when it turns slightly more west onto Westhorne Avenue and becomes dual carriageway again. It passes under the
A2 at a
grade separation junction, one of only two on the route, and continues south westerly as a dual carriageway, crossing Eltham Road (
A210 road) and Sidcup Road (
A20 road), until the junction with Burnt Ash Hill when it becomes single carriageway again - which it'll remain for most of the route.
The first section of the single carriageway is Saint Mildreds Road; then, shortly after passing under the railway line, it's Brownhill Road due west all the way to the
Catford gyratory system which crosses the
A21 to follow Catford Road past the now closed
Catford Stadium, and then Stanstead Road, where it does a totso (turn off to stay on) along Sunderland Road, Waldram Park Road, Waldram Crescent and Dartmouth Road, before turning slightly north at the start of the
A2216 road at
Forest Hill to follow London Road past the
Horniman Museum. At the junction with Wood Vale the route turns north west along
Lordship Lane before a totso west onto Dulwich Common, passing
Dulwich College. The route then goes along Thurlow Park Road, crossing the
River Effra, before coming to the
Tulse Hill gyratory, which is a junction with the
A215 and A204 roads, as well as the point where the postcode changes from
SE to
SW.
The route climbs slightly on Christchurch Road, crossing the
A23 on
Brixton Hill to become dual carriageway for the two hundred yards of Streatham Place, before returning to single carriageway on Atkins Road where there's a totso onto Poynders Road. At the junction with Cavendish Road the route turns north before curving to the north-west to arrive at the southern corner of
Clapham Common where the
A24 is crossed for the route to travel along The Avenue on the west side of the
common.
The A205 now meets and merges with the
A3 London to Portsmouth road for two miles, travelling along Battersea Rise, North Side Wandsworth Common (the second grade separation junction, over
Trinity Road), Huguenot Place, East Hill, Wandsworth High Street (passing the old
Ram Brewery), and West Hill where the routes diverge; the A205 going north-west along Upper Richmond Road.
It was at a bus-stop on the A205 in
Eltham that black teenager Stephen Lawrence perished in a racially-motivated attack on
22 April 1993.
Further Information
Get more info on 'A205 Road'.
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