London's unfinished motorways

In the 70s, an ambitious road-building project called 'Ringways' was cancelled and London narrowly escaped a fate much worse than traffic jams.
See new videos before anyone else, and extra stuff like outtakes and deleted scenes
PATREON: / jayforeman
WEBSITE: www.jayforeman.co.uk
TWITTER: / jayforeman

[@victoriaf8571]

This guy is very chaotic neutral

[@ballscrusher4]

that's a rather interesting way to put it

[@stolasish1184]

Victoria Fleuty nah, he is providing a good service and educating people, so I’d think more Chaotic good

[@victoriaf8571]

@@stolasish1184 ....r/whoosh

[@TorchwoodPandP]

You mean chaotic natural, with flair!

[@BlaBlaBla]

As a chaotic neutral, I approve of this

[@nicholasciarletta6708]

“Totally ruining this landsca-uh surely no one cares about this place” that got me good

[@paithoonnamsena346]

Me too

[@mauz791]

9:48

[@flimdog1564]

West hampstead is pretty nice actually tbh

[@_sophieleah]

first time I found this, that got me for a good three minutes

[@NICHOProductions]

Never has anyone summed up my entire opinion of one road so succinctly as "the North Circular whizzes through the suburbs, like a twat". Amazing.

[@metalswifty23]

Had to use it once whilst going to buy a car. Fucking dreadful road. Actually makes me glad I live in South London.

[@catmoore2443]

Evil road 😂

[@stateofflux7453]

As a former south Londoner now in the northwest, I personally like having these major urban roads such as the NCR and A40 Westway that take pressure off the other local roads. And if you drive the North Circular just once or twice you get used to it 😉

[@ARandomtokii]

i live basically right near the north circular and it acts as a divider that semperates us from the north and centeral of the area we live in,it is convient for national travels and gets us around north london quickly

[@mrmustard1633]

Seriously my favourite mini documentary (and I've seen a ton) ever, have watched it over and over again for years - the gags, the music, the info. Just perfection

[@JayForeman]

Aw, thanks Mr Mustard. :)

[@thejgamer0855]

@@JayForeman do you check comments on 11 year old videos? Wow.

[@TomGibson.]

@@thejgamer0855 unless I’m mistaken I think KZbin sends notifications so it doesn’t matter when the video is published. Still cool if Jay to reply anyway though

[@thejgamer0855]

@@TomGibson. ah i see

[@Anankin12]

​@@TomGibson.They probably have it turned off tho, or their phone would be better called "vibrator"

[@caramelldansen2204]

It's shocking how much 2011 energy this has while staying high-quality and entertaining like today's KZbin

[@krystina662]

I think his videos aged so well because he used documentary style and no references that would age within a month

[@asheep7797]

Your PFP gives off 2009 energy.

[@kittyshippercavegirl]

Vi undrar, är ni redo att vara med? Armarna upp, nu ska ni få se Kom igen Vem som helst kan vara med (vara med) Så rör på era fötter, o-a-a-a Och vicka era höfter, o-la-la-la Gör som vi Till denna melodi uma uma a

[@jttg]

@@kittyshippercavegirl wtf are you on about

[@kittyshippercavegirl]

@@jttg the original comment posting person has the name caramelldansen so I posted caramelldansen

[@joehadden918]

I do not live in London, or even drive, but I’m still gripped by this fantastic series. A Grade journalism.

[@petersheppard2173]

Now I'm sure that if you did one, you wouldn't do the other.

[@OfelieArt]

@Human Resources not sure if you're joking or if you're serious

[@sabrinabenitezsalazar6481]

its funny cause ive never been to lodon but watching these videos my city of La Paz, Bolivia definitely has very 70/80s london vibe

[@farhysthunterz6654]

@Human Resources Grade (A) for this Journalism

[@windmillwilly]

A Grade A Under Achiever!

[@turgturg4479]

Fun fact, my grandad worked on the m1 as a 14 year old with his dad, so all those dips that you get along the m1 are where my grandad drove the dump trucks too far back and now that they have rotted away so you have dips in the road.

[@philthornton1382]

Child labour building roads.... nice

[@jeremyhillaryboob4248]

Cool story, also, turg

[@leDespicable]

@@philthornton1382 People started working at that age back then, not really anything to get worked up about now lol

[@philthornton1382]

@@leDespicable I’m well aware and wasn’t worked up about it 😂

[@leDespicable]

@@philthornton1382 My apologies then, recognising that with text is a bit tricky lol

[@CosyMatt]

I love how Jay could be on the set of any 1970 BBC show and would fit right in.

[@silver6380]

I thought the Windows XP was a joke until realizing that this video is from 2011. It feels so much newer!

[@fishmasteruniverse]

yeah I thought this was new wtf

[@brandonb4742]

Yo same

[@azure2130]

so? windows 7 was out for 2 years, vista for 5 years.

[@francisquiling]

@@azure2130 you underestimate how popular windows xp was. The only thing that could kill it was Microsoft themselves

[@kyh148]

Wait it’s that old? fuck

[@UtkarshKaushik]

Graphics and Animation: Tom Scott I think I know that guy...

[@dorsvenabili5573]

Utkarsh Kaushik Doesn’t he have channel as well?

[@UtkarshKaushik]

@@dorsvenabili5573 yes, he does

[@gormster]

Titles Music: Beardyman I think I know that guy as well...

[@saoirsedeltufo7436]

Dors Venabili The Tiger Woman?

[@itsquix1111]

Tom Scott is bloody amazing

[@peterstubbs5934]

When I came out of the army in 97, I was doing some driving agency work. I had a job driving a flatbed wagon weighted up with concrete blocks to reclassify some B road bridges near Swindon. The bloke I was working for was part of the M25 design team, an Irish fellah if I recall correctly. He said that they were given the task of designing a ring road system that would cope with the projected levels of traffic with sufficient spare capacity. They came to the conclusion that the existing M25 route with an additional ring route some thirty miles outside that would be sufficient to cope quite easily. When they submitted their plans, the govt of the day balked at the price and gave the go ahead for just the M25 single ring motorway. Thats why we have the shit show that is the M25 today.

[@harlanrosenthal8648]

"In fact, very few people on the face of the planet know that the very shape of the M25 forms the sigh odegra in the language of the Black Priesthood of Ancient Mu, and means “Hail the Great Beast, Devourer of Worlds.” The thousands of motorists who daily fume their way around its serpentine lengths have the same effect as water on a prayer wheel, grinding out an endless fog of low.. grade evil to pollute the metaphysical atmosphere for scores of miles around. It was one of Crowley's better achievements. It had taken years to achieve, and had involved three computer hacks, two break.. ins, one minor bribery and, on one wet night when all else had failed, two hours in a squelchy field shifting the marker pegs a few but occultly incredibly significant meters."

[@O-sa-car]

Induced demand doesn't work the same outside the city as it does within. Also the Green Belt would prevent sprawl

[@Stealth360stealth]

Just to shed some further light on this. A bypass of the western section of the M25 has been conceived in the early 60s and you could consider it 'Ringway 5'. The M31 would of travelled in its shortest form from Reading connecting with the M4, bypassing Bracknell and then down to the M3. The planners also then saw the possibility of further connecting the M31 to the A3, meeting the M25 or Ringway 4 as it was the time with the A3/M25 junction for one massive 3 directional motorway junction. The possibility of connecting this route to the M40 was also there, but this has now been made redundant by the A404 and A404(M). The only section of the M31 built is the A329(M) and the A3290 which connects Reading to the M4 and then to Bracknell. The signs of it being the M31 are there on there section between Reading and M4 J10 on the A329(M) and A3290, as it has a massive central reservation designed to make it 3 lanes wide, and the bridges are designed for 3 lanes each way. On top of that M4 J10 is a massive complex, and is one of only 3 partially unrolled cloverleafs in the UK. Clearly proving that the junction had far greater plans than being an expressway between Bracknell and Reading.

[@RedKnight-fn6jr]

@@iansteelmatheson Induced demand is actually nothing to do with building more roads - induced demand is where travel is rendered necessary whether people like it or not - high property values - exorbitant rents etc. which forces people to live ever further from their places of work - that's induced demand - it's forced upon people. What happens when a new road/rail link is built is what I call Realized Socio-Economic Potential - an example of this is said to be the Erskine Bridge built in the 1970's west of Glasgow - there was plenty of labor one side of the Clyde, but the jobs were on the other - the desire for people to get to those jobs was said to be there, bridge or no bridge - there's no induced demand. Once the bridge was built, people were able to access the jobs - it's call free market capitalism! In general, the more accessible an area, the more business opportunities - it's called economic growth!

[@missgfaulkner]

these videos have become my comfort blanket. when there's nothing else to watch, I turn to unfinished london.

[@Jpk21]

Same here

[@q0w1e2r3t4y5]

This is the most British channel I've ever had the pleasure of encountering.

[@CheminisVienetas]

Man, but this is awesome!!

[@SwollenHero]

then you haven't seen lindybeige

[@q0w1e2r3t4y5]

@@SwollenHero yes I have. Fair point.

[@jinglefart]

oh yes

[@gordonwilson1631]

English!

[@justjim1027]

I am genuinely not quite sure how I have not seen this dudes content until early 2020 but I am loving it.

[@ShadowSumac]

Quarantine? ))

[@Senhordaverdadeabsol]

are you loving that you didn't saw this ddudes content until 2020?

[@justjim1027]

@@Senhordaverdadeabsol I think you know what was meant. Granted, it wasn't worded very well.

[@therealbricker]

Dude, it is completely the same situation for me. Jay Foreman has one of the best KZbin channels I've ever seen and I'm surprised I didn't discover him earlier.

[@gpaderx6105]

SAMEEE. I'm just a new subscriber

[@TheGreatMelonyt]

This feels so timeless. How could this be posted 10 years ago???

[@Hublium]

It's amazing, I watched this whole video without noticing how old it was. I genuinely thought him using a Windows XP computer in one scene was an artistic choice.

[@eliward1378]

''Crowley, what you did with the M25 was a stroke of pure, demonic genius!''

[@lisa_vxng]

my thoughts :DD goes hand in hand with that vine on "THE FOOKEN M25"

[@eliward1378]

@@lisa_vxng exactly! also: love ur pfp^^

[@lisa_vxng]

@@eliward1378 haha thanks☺️

[@akrinornoname2769]

Wahoo!

[@obliviousotterI]

What's a computer?

[@pookachu64]

Only just noticed he draws on his monitor. The maniac

[@chrisst8922]

Not a problem. He overwrites with Tippxx

[@jacktheladfrost]

Obviously it's not his

[@pegleg2959]

@@jacktheladfrost why is that obvious? lmao

[@Oodelally]

He puts a transparent sheet of plastic over it, there are bits of blue tack holding it on in the corners.

[@fly89]

his monitor. he could smear it with cheese if he want.. 😂😂😋😂😂

[@ipullstuffapart]

For a channel with only 30k subs, your production quality is outstanding. Subbed.

[@BouXCIII]

Im mean it's a nice video but he DREW on a monitor. That gave ne shivers

[@riskinhos]

really amazing

[@1blisslife]

I approve this message! That's a well thought out presentation mate. Greetings from Texas... Cheers

[@DanieleGiorgino]

At the end of the clip where he's cleaning it you can see some plastic lift off. It's only barely noticeable.

[@dietcokewithbacon3464]

If you look closely the monitor had a clear plastic sheet on it

[@HarrowwInk]

2011: "why is north london better than south london?" 2022: "why is west london better than east london?"

[@lucaslonchampt613]

So you need to live in North-West London

[@emilybarclay8831]

@@lucaslonchampt613 NW London does include areas that are traditionally considered the poshest so, yes

[@mildlydispleased3221]

@@emilybarclay8831 Posh isn't always good.

[@petergriffin3194]

@@mildlydispleased3221 Probably better schools and standard of living

[@helenl3193]

Those topics are probably as old as London herself! As a East Londoner with friends all over we often tease about worst/best bits of London. Generally 'our bit' is deemed the best, as with all these debates. (I'm cool with SE, though I've always lived in NE. North vs South is often perceived as the bigger grudge match, but I grew up in the 80s thinking it was East vs West.. But maybe it was actually more about classism by another name than anything else 🤷‍♀️ The more things change, and all that!)

[@caloss2]

I wonder if Jay will ever produce a "out-takes" episode of this series (should the footage still exist) I look at some of the setups and think, there's got to be some gold in getting that shot together.

[@usedsubcompact1369]

He does and it’s all on his Patreon

[@adammullarkey4996]

Imagine opening your door to a guy in a high-vis jacket, talking to a camera, "...was on their hitlist," handing you a bomb, and then sprinting away.

[@simonro9168]

...that guy being the same bloke who just blocked you in his car to start a ten minute monologue.

[@whynotanyting]

London: *Gets bombed Abercrombie: "It's free real estate."

[@abrahamwilberforce9824]

The thing is I grew up close to a city called Kassel, which the RAF was so friendly to flatten in WW2, the consequence being very well designed streets, that can handle the traffic made by 200k people from and 200k people around the city. Now I am studying physics in a city called Heidelberg which the RAF did not bomb at all in return for the Luftwaffe not bombing oxford and cmbridge. Heidelberg has close to a third of the population of the Kassel area and traffic is dumpsterfire.

[@nytrex_yt7417]

Abraham Wilberforce Sorry wrong video boomer

[@kmanilewis4078]

@@abrahamwilberforce9824 Cool nice to hear some history :D

[@Yanramich]

@@abrahamwilberforce9824 it gets even better in Dresden...

[@coolthefool1]

Litterally

[@angelcavegti4131]

"London isn't designed for the car" Me: Then what is London designed for? "In fact: it wasn't designed at all"

[@BeaEss]

That obsolete part of the M23 is still there. Me and my friends drove down there in the 80s. You couldn't hear a sound and it was completely deserted. Eerie.

[@Dgnarus]

I've lost absolute track of how many times I've watched this video, and I've never even been to London

[@kingkarrotyt5277]

Don't go there by car whatever you do

[@transportationuk7656]

I go by train which is much cheaper and faster.

[@MBCMurrayPlaysRL]

Yeah im the same. Watched this at least 50 times since it came out, no joke.

[@gregh378]

You should come, it's a wonderful city.

[@OHYS]

Same I've watched this video so many times

[@jamesbaxter4722]

Somebody give this guy a job at the BBC

[@JayForeman]

+Fantastrix No I wouldn't!!!

[@jamesgonzalez8113]

Why?

[@NotQuiteFirst]

+Ttrucker But he's a white man. Maybe they will hire if he's gay

[@ieuanhunt552]

James Baxter IKR

[@dat581]

James Baxter He is certainly enough of a left wing twat to work there.

[@MapperJD]

I love how he says half the job done pretty much exactly halfway through the video 6:09

[@rencarnation]

I found this channel just this last week before my move to London, and it's been so much fun learning about this weird old city before I go! These videos really have the feel of old infotainment shows I used to watch as a kid in the best way

[@m8sonmiller]

London traffic engineers: omg no you can't just destroy thousands of homes to build a freeway you'll destroy the urban fabric and encourage auto dependency American traffic engineers: haha bulldozer go brrrt

[@bobsempletank1222]

Anyone before 1900: bullbozer heheheh

[@realcanadian96]

No the bulldozer goes brmbrmbrmbrm

[@AVeryRandomPerson]

Haha, bulldozer bulldoze urban blight for freeway

[@craigkdillon]

That is what we did here in Chicago. Whole neighborhoods --- replaced by freeways in the 50's. Chicago lost a lot. Don't do it.

[@bleepiestofbloops]

And that's on racism.

[@user-cn5pm7zg1u]

Take a shot every time Jay changes the title or the thumbnail

[@bananek1208]

It's called alcohol poisoning

[@yorokobikanaa]

pay my hospital bill

[@anarghyasumanth8590]

What was the original title?

[@peskypigeonx]

@@shrek_has_swag2344 Cries in American healthcare

[@Awkairo]

@@anarghyasumanth8590 First it was "Unfinished London - Episode 2" then "London's unfinished motorways (Unfinished London ep2)" and now its just "London's unfinished motorways"

[@finneganmanthe8984]

I live in Portland (Oregon) and have flown into Los Angeles at night, and yes, it’s just chock full of highways that are completely lit up with the red lights of traffic jams.

[@mankeez5892]

It's insane how well this holds up. Jay Foreman is a fucking genius.

[@thequeenofspades]

This should be a full TV series.

[@_yellow]

thequeenofspades Why are we not funding this?

[@jackw4498]

Holy shit

[@jarq19]

The government doesn't want the public to know that there can be motorways inside London. So... no TV series.

[@jmusic2024]

nobody watches TV anymore. That`s why we are here.

[@tomtalk24]

The BBC had a whole hour long documentary on it ages ago.

[@sparky6899]

Foward Hampstead High street, Forward Rosslyn Hill, Left Pond Street, bear right agincourt road, left mansfield road, forward gordon house road, right highgate road, left lady somerset road, left burghley road, right brecknock road, left southcote road, right tuffnell park road, right onto Holloway Road. Yours, A London Taxi Driver.

[@james-p]

A nice line to the A1. Too bad there's no "comply" in there... that's my favorite (oops, favourite) London Taxi term lol. I think it has something to do with roundabouts?

[@sparky6899]

@@james-p yep ;-D

[@chrisst8922]

The knowledge Mr. Housegow.

[@shitlordflytrap1078]

How the hell do you do that.

[@sparky6899]

@@shitlordflytrap1078 3 years of studying and 2 years of examinations.

[@paulhatcher951]

That small Northern section of M23 always puzzled me why they built such a massive three lane motorway that just goes straight into single lane A23. I did some research on it a little while back and found out about these ambitious schemes to build motorways in London. Good to see it get a mention here :)

[@HouseOfFunQM]

I come from the future of 2022. A 1-hour only train journey to get into London costs about 8 million pounds, and nobody wants to get on them.

[@georgedoty-williams2085]

That's not true

[@adamatkinson2728]

This has Tom Scott vibes, Top Gear announcing, And Monty Python Sketches. This is not a coincidence Edit: I didn’t see Tom Scott in the credits. Also stop liking this, I shitpost on my alt account and it becomes my most liked comment lol

[@odyseya]

I mean... you are not wrong. (Also, look at the credits)

[@cdmonmcginn7561]

he did the editing

[@LC-dc7ec]

adam atkinson British humour at its finest

[@doublevector5270]

Speaking of British humour, Adam Atkinson, do you know a man named Rowan Atkinson

[@SuperGenericUser]

@@doublevector5270 Isn't he Mr Bean's twin brother?

[@rhianwen5727]

these are pretty interesting subjects I never thought or cared about before and now I’m completely invested. These are the kinds of videos I love even if they are (shockingly) 7 years old... I love how you filmed this it’s far superior to most the stuff you get on bbc in 2018! And I love how you use the music to signify when you are talking about. The humour is on peak and the way you explain things is clear and easy to understand for simpletons like me and keeps you interested.

[@seanaguila5804]

The El dude Brothers 666 LIKES

[@dariusanderton3760]

why on earth does it even matter that it is 7 years old. The subject matter he covers is completely pre-1990 for heavens sakes.

[@BulletFever1]

@@dariusanderton3760 why does it matter if the subject matter he covers is pre-1990?

[@laur-unstagenameactuallyca1587]

agree 100% OP

[@laur-unstagenameactuallyca1587]

@@dariusanderton3760 it matters because compared to most stuff on KZbin in 2011 this is a lot more polished and well produced, you numpty

[@pocketsand6776]

Sir, you are amazing. This video is fantastic, I look forward to watching many times over. Thank you thank you thank you!

[@flamegaming1846]

can't believe Jay has still kept me interested in these 10 years, incredible mate

[@tiaxanderson9725]

10:44 This is an often misunderstood part of city planning. In order to get the cars moving you have to give people the option not to take the car. A channel called Not Just Bikes (I believe) has a bunch of videos on how the Dutch did this by making road design include traffic calming, bike paths, walking paths etc by law throughout the country.

[@tiaxanderson9725]

@The Stammering Dunce *waves back, now as an avid NJB viewer :D*

[@requiem165]

Ikr

[@Anahi1991]

@@tiaxanderson9725 was that the why I hate houston one? Understood everything I said growing up here all my life in one visit. 😭😭😭

[@lpsp442]

Excellent comment - I was scrolling down to consider leaving an NJB rec myself, but I see I've been beaten by two years 🤭

[@meldragonborn8976]

Oh, here in Moscow we have a joke when someone comes from outside the city: "You're lying, there's no life beyond the Moscow Ringroad!"

[@obamaprism9702]

Us Londoners are in denial that people actually live outside the M25

[@synkkamaan1331]

The map of the ringroads immediately made me think of Moscow. Not that I've been there, I just saw it on Google Maps.

[@normadicsoilder]

@@obamaprism9702 the m25 marks the boundary between the habitable zone and the forbidden zone, where nothing grows, the very air you breathe is a poisonous fume. Anyone who claims to be from beyond the m25 is a liar and must be silenced.

[@habib6499]

@@zUJ7EjVD assuming your Aussie or kiwi or maybe Maltese

[@habib6499]

@@obamaprism9702 to me (I grew up in north Southwark) north England starts from hackney and beyond and when I think of none Londoners I imagine gypsies

[@spiralhalo]

I love my documentaries dramatic. This channel is essential to the survival of my people.

[@derin111]

I grew up in South London in the 1960s. The spectre of that road being built through or very near us blighted my parents house for years and years and they could never sell it for decent price. Eventually all plans were shelved!

[@Woodrow512]

I was actually just lighting a joint when the bong came up

[@creativedesignation7880]

I heard the sound and just went "Wait, is he..? Yep, taking a hit from a bong. So that´s how you make Londons infrastructure truly fascinating!"

[@AA-hg5fk]

Looks like we got a badass over here!

[@barackobama6858]

@@AA-hg5fk yes smoking a joint like a stoner, how badass. Idiot

[@Acaerwen]

@@AA-hg5fk Well, If you're from a state where it's legal it has the same "badass" energy as lighting a cigarette. None.

[@alexanderscarlett1731]

Man liked a comment on a 9 year old video, absolute legend

[@eily_b]

Munich did that. It's a catastrophe having 6-lane motorways in the middle of the city. -_- It divides quarters, it's loud, dangerous and dirty. Also: You are not sitting in a traffic jam, you are the traffic jam.

[@dengamleidiot]

On a MUCH smaller scale, in Denmark, the city of Odense in 1940s saw the car as the future! So ten-ish years later, the city-counsil agreed on making room for: THE CAR So they demolished a huuuuge part on the central city to make way for the cars with a brand new road. People hated it! It was waaay to big. Totally out of scale. Already 10 years later, everyone in the city council saw it as “a scar in Odense”, and it has been used by city planners around the world as how NOT to do. There is a happy ending: Now, 50 years later, the road has been closed. They are building a new city block, for pedestrians, and a new tram. Its all coming back around :)

[@_SpamMe]

It can't be just a question of having decent streets or not though. Look at Tokyo - they have their huge motorways and large streets all across and around the city too, yet everything's clean and traffic's somehow not any more crazy than anywhere else - in fact I found it pretty darn mild. Obviously there's a lot of it, what with there being a lot of people (and businesses), but the excellent public transportation systems does its job regardless. So there might be a way to find a better balance that'd allow for reasonable car traffic if other factors were improved.

[@paradoxmo]

Los Angeles got the way it did because of two things: 1) At the same time they built the major freeways, they got rid of most of their public transport infrastructure including most of the trams-- new infra wouldn't be built for decades 2) Excluding the earliest ones, the freeways were planned as part of a country-wide system by the Interstate planning commission, but there was no unified public transport plan (each municipality had its own say). Had the people-movement needs of the city been taken care of, the freeways would mostly be used for priority traffic and trucks/lorries. This isn't the case as it's practically impossible to go anywhere in LA on public transport. People who don't have cars have to use a bus to commute 2 hours to go less than 15 miles. Thus, everyone gets a car as soon as they can, even if they have to sit in traffic.

[@Posiman]

In Prague we have a fuckin' highway running straight through our historical center, dividing the Wenceslas Square from the National Museum. That's the downside of having communist planners designing your city. But we never finished the ringway after the revolution. We didn't have to because our public transport is amazing. That's the upside of having communist planners designing your city.

[@Posiman]

@@holger_p I agree wholeheartedly...

[@itsfruityflop]

Only a few minutes into watching the video , I noticed the video had came out more then 10 years ago. Truly shows how good of quality your vids are

[@thatnerd2032]

The song choice for this episode is in amazing taste, as always great job Jay!

[@1DontNoclip]

This is like the longest series. Almost 10 YEARS

[@charlieh2081]

You're not expecting it to finish are you?

[@monkey-sz5jr]

More than 10 years. See the northern line video

[@mandemt1076]

The simpsons

[@1DontNoclip]

@@charlieh2081 no

[@1DontNoclip]

@@mandemt1076 yes

[@SmokeyBCN]

5:31 I love the subtle "ahem" as the North Circular reaches Arnos Grove

[@sashagallaway1945]

How about 5:18?

[@formzino]

congrats on 1m subs Jay, thoroughly deserved

[@hux2000]

Not gonna lie: the part where he sharpied the screen squicked me out more than the photo of the dead guy in the bath.

[@gordonblues843]

Here's a good joke for you: The south circular.

[@MMM18092]

"A series of scarcely believable road signs!"

[@ishnotfish0685]

South circular (Honest)

[@mothermovementa]

Awful

[@MalaysianAviator737-8]

Gordonblues i don’t understand

[@ishnotfish0685]

@@MalaysianAviator737-8 The south circular works so bad that it's considered a joke compared to the north circular.

[@MMorangatang]

"nobody wanted to live next to big, ugly motorways" meanwhile, in New Jersey: "lmao"

[@hueleb1cho]

cross bronx expressway: sorry what was that?

[@KaizoeAzurum]

Nobody wants to live in New Jersey, so living next to a motorway would be expected.

[@AlexS-oj8qf]

NJ: *Æ*

[@jesse7328]

Kaizoe Ocshtau NJ is the best state fuck you

[@moosesandmeese969]

My elementary school and indeed my house in New Jersey was literally feet from a gigantic highway.

[@DoubleDeckerAnton]

Love your very funny, informative and unique videos Jay.

[@jusw]

6:19 "In fact there isn't really such thing as the South Circular Road at all. It's just a series of scarcely believable road signs." Ha ha this totally sums up my experience of 30y of driving on the A205!

[@SwrveYT]

This feels like something I would watch in Year 6 on those old school tv’s

[@carlbryan9003]

Yes, I too watched clowns masturbate in Year 6

[@Kazavop]

hold up--

[@MabzProductionz]

Swrve™ Yh legit

[@rinoz47]

i really used to poo-poo the attitude against putting in all the elevated roads, but since the Alaska Way Viaduct in Seattle was removed, the waterfront just popped and new life is being breathed into it. almost literally as bike paths and those green things from sticks are being planted and all that good hippie stuff

[@jairomartinez225]

I honestly thought this videos was from at least 3 years ago, then i saw that it was published in 2011. I'm blow away by its quality. 🤯

[@peterallam6494]

Shelved schemes happened out of London too. Tring by-pass was once M41. M1at Scatchwood & A1at John Tann roundabout were due to link up at one time too. Harlow New Town was layed out with the M11 due to be East of the town.

[@RatelHBadger]

I don't know how KZbin recommended your video, but I enjoyed it!

[@EllotusFreeholy]

A few quid under the table i'd say ~ wink wink

[@YouAintGotNoTegridyBoi]

Ratel.H Badger they recommended it because they knew you'd like it maybe. Man this channel popped up in my feed yesterday and now I'm hooked! This gentleman is impressively intelligent and his comedic timing resembles the most refined of British comedy which is the best in my opinion.

[@YouAintGotNoTegridyBoi]

I'm also interested in learning about British geography because somehow it's one of the countries I'm least familiar with on this topic despite it being my next door neighbour (I'm Irish).

[@arjanwilbie2511]

The M25 is a parallel parking simulator.

[@manhoosnick]

Arjan Wilbie haha

[@muhammedsoofi4971]

Arjan Wilbie just like interstate 495 in Washington DC

[@visethreachsothy6952]

Muhammed Soofi omg M25 is basically the British I-495 Both go around the capital city, and both are a complete, utter nightmare.

[@westlondonbuses9902]

lol

[@DC4444]

Arjan Wilbie We have a similar thing in Auckland, New Zealand where the Southern Motorway is sometimes referred to as a carpark because of traffic congestion.

[@WrightM88]

Dude, I love this channel!

[@alexblower]

I think this is fantasically put together and is both interesting and funny. You have a new sub.

[@scottwhitley3392]

Glasgow has a motorway that goes right through the city centre. A large amount of historical medieval and Victorian buildings were destroyed and any street on the wrong side of the motorway lost out on a lot of income. It divides the city is ugly and still cause a lot of anguish to this day.

[@ellac.949]

It's very confusing and even though I can't drive I still get scared every time I go on it 😂😂

[@ninesquared81]

Only half of it was built as well. That's not to mention all the other motorways planned outside of the central area.

[@leod-sigefast]

The Mancunian way in Manchester is similarly shitty.

[@user-ky6vw5up9m]

Bob Dylan got stopped by the Police for walking along the M8 in Glasgow.

[@habib6499]

Man why didn’t you guys leave the UK

[@NinhLyUK]

✔️ TECHNICAL CORRECTION: The M1 isn't Britain's first motorway - it's actually the Preston Bypass, which now forms part of the M6.

[@epiendless1128]

True. I'm no expert, but a couple of minutes googling suggests the M1 was the first inter-urban motorway, not the first motorway.

[@NinhLyUK]

@@epiendless1128 maybe so, but that's not what he said. The Preston Bypass IS the first motorway to be built in the UK.

[@user-ky6vw5up9m]

True, but it fell to pieces after the first Winter and had to be rebuilt.

[@habib6499]

Well it’s the first motorway that mattered anything that has nothing to do with London doesn’t matter duh

[@vernonbear]

Absolutely correct. First motorway Preston bypass. Not in dispute.

[@K3lwin]

English subtitles are a bit screwed at 5:47

[@catmadwoman6317]

I just saw my old house on the North Circular. Yay! I loved those days (1957-67) long gone but great memories.

[@aguila17]

Motorways don’t have to be ugly like the ones you showed. Look at Japan, the high speed roads don’t interfere with the local communities. It happens that way in London because it’s poorly managed. And living within less than two miles of a high speed road seems perfectly reasonable. Even though your point of using more public transport because more roads create more traffic is valid and proven, big cities still need big roads to be efficient. What London lacks is a balance between big infrastructure and good urban preservation, every project is way to inclined to either side.

[@FinJet347]

So true

[@wannabehistorian6924]

Because we do everything better!

[@PikaPluff]

@@wannabehistorian6924 weeb

[@wannabehistorian6924]

@PikaPluff2040 Am Japanese, actually.

[@SantomPh]

Mind you, the greater Tokyo area is as large as the UK itself.

[@gpaderx6105]

This 2011 kind of educational-entertainment was so very rare in KZbin. This looks like was made from 2018

[@BrassicGamer]

This is one of the greatest videos I've ever had the pleasure of viewing.

[@5thdawg917]

Can't believe I just discovered this channel. And this video is over 10 years old. I was still at college back then. So many things have changed around London too since then. Even the skyline when he was flying lol

[@GameplayReviewUK]

The way this was filmed was just amazing, you earned a sub before I'd even finished watching :)

[@BlendyStick]

So BBC it hurts. A good hurt though.

[@TkrZ]

Saw this and could have sworn i've seen the guy on the telly, just because of the styling of the video!

[@bobstephens5599]

He's on the One Show occasionally, he doesn't work for the BBC though.

[@otocan]

"Transport policy today is almost entirely about measures to reduce the number of drivers". **Looks at cost of train tickets** Are you fucking kidding me??

[@VicvicW]

Well, thats what you get with privatised rail, innit?

[@SimonS44]

Vicvic W in France, the railway is not privatised and apart from the so great TGV and the big cities, there are almost no regional trains and it's still expensive

[@VicvicW]

SimonHellinger Well that's clearly government mismanagement. National rail here i the uk was, top quote a wise man "pretty good."

[@SimonS44]

Vicvic W British Rail closed many many smaller railway lines. I don't think that is "pretty good"

[@VicvicW]

SimonHellinger Yes but it was on time more than current rail franchises. I'm comparing now to then. It's not like these franchises have re-opened them.

[@WheelSports]

How am I only finding this channel today. Amazing.

[@twowheelvalle]

I was 6 or 7 years old when this video was shot. The video has better quality than other newer videos on KZbin from other channels and it is from 2011. *2011*

[@johnnyboy3949]

Why does this feel like it was filmed in the 90s?

[@mr8I7]

Burns Night - Weird colours, contrasts? I know what you mean it’s pretty odd.

[@jmusic2024]

@@mr8I7 and his haircut? :D

[@Londonfogey]

Partly the presenter's haircut but also the rapid editing and 'comedy' sound effects are very 90s, the kind of thing they used to have on Channel Four 'yoof' programmes c.1995.

[@noavanderhoorn2996]

Because it was filmed in 2011

[@kebman]

It's because it was filmed in 2011 on 90's equipment.

[@ianhelps3749]

Yes, driving in London is a pain, but the Ringway would have made things worse. In Munich we built a ring road around the city for billions of euros, the "Mittler Ring", it is jammed solid in peak hours. Germany has many more motorways than Britain, with serious traffic jams. Build for the car, the cars will come.

[@NazbolCaliphDonaldaddeenTrump]

Man you should see Montreal. The downtown is just full of highways (A10, A15, A19, A20, A40, A720 all run through or into downtown) and those highways are full of cars. 3 of the highways are important long distance roads too, so they carry a lot of foreign traffic as well (for example A15 goes all the way to the US border, and continues as I-87 into New York City). And I haven't mentioned all the other highways that circle or pass near Montreal (A13, A30, A35, A50 and too much more)

[@VDHFilms]

Singapore has pretty bad traffic jams as well. A lot of expressways lead to the city center (and I think they're building a new one), and majority of them get jammed packed during peak hours. Even some of the public train lines get so busy they get traffic jams too.

[@chameleonedm]

Honestly it's hilarious how many random bits of public transport we have in London, I love it. Obviously buses, trains, tubes, bikes but we have trams down in Croydon, the North Circular, Ferrys across the water, an automated overground, big ass tunnels, canals and even a bloody cable car.

[@semanticsamuel936]

This is interesting, but your public transport is far superior to Britain's (except maybe coaches - Britain's good at long-distance coaches). Britain has a lot of everything, just most of it isn't very good (or insufficient for today).

[@dekoldrick]

The Georgia Parameter I-285 always get's jammed up during the evening hours. Used to take me 3 hours to get from Buford Highway to Wesley Chapel until I just decided to go the street way home which takes just one hour.

[@clemfandango99]

If all content was made by Jay Foreman I would watch it. Just discovered how awesome Unfinished London is and I'm sucked in watching them all. Not from there and I couldn't be more hooked. Also, the deadpan "In other words, why is North London better than South London?" Deadpan full stop. I love these type of rivalries. Such a good video series and channel. Map men is awesome too! Thanks Jay😎

[@douglasaraujo9763]

Can’t believe this video - got me laughing, learning and simply amazed with how timelessly funny it is

[@Bobjua]

did this guy just use a marker on a computer monitor

[@JayForeman]

+moon god The monitor was covered with a plastic sheet. Look carefully at the corners and you can see the blu tack.

[@gtmaya]

You've ruined the magic :c

[@riceymartin2203]

Jay Foreman Any new video?

[@isaacwood4071]

If it was a computer marker or if he wiped it off soon after it would be fine

[@PongoXBongo]

Whiteboard marker wouldn't be an issue. Even permanent marker would come off with some isopropyl alcohol.

[@redd_cat]

9:50 "eugh really? surely no-one cares about this place" lmao

[@KangarooFam]

I mean it’s quite disgusting

[@habib6499]

@@KangarooFam very ugly looks like punt land (Somalia)

[@berniethekiwidragon4382]

Much of London would start to look so much better straight away if people stopped littering and spitting in the street.

[@ianprince1698]

in the 1970s I used to go to work on the " South Circular all it was some hard to spot signposts, though Stretham high street was a dual carriageway, it just threaded its way through the houses

[@Sp4wnEffect]

my day got mainly made by the credits of this video. Tom Scott and Beardyman?! Love it!

[@Llerme]

Beardyman is Jay's brother too, which blew my mind.

[@gaijininja]

So, Londoners are just like Melbournians here in Australia. "I want to live close to the city and work, I want to get there in 10 minutes, nut I don't want ugly big freeways, elevated rail lines, or any form of road works to slow me down." See Westgate Tunnel Project, and the Level Crossing Removal project.

[@arturturkevych3816]

It wouldn't work in London. There's 3 times as many people and the city is very old with even underground being at a premium. There simply isn't space and the only real way to improve congestion is improving public transport.

[@prp3231]

@@arturturkevych3816 do what the Germans do, build a monorail on stilts , high above the streets. Make the monorail cheap to use and see how commuters will ditch the tube , cars and buses. Where there's a will, there's a way. However, there will be the usual silly planning laws, public/private funding issues, finding skilled workforce, setting up a monorail delivery group, strikes.... Too many challenges, better to stay with the old system and leave the problem to fester ....

[@arturturkevych3816]

@@prp3231 monorail didn't prove itself as an alternative to tube, tram or light rail and has failed. Many cities would be better off building a light rail system on a bridge. Much cheaper and higher capacity. I don't know what are you talking about in Germany, since the only famous monorail system there is in Wuppertal on a river and it is successful purely due to the geography of the town. Germany has a handful of monorails that are mostly not in big cities. Many cities like Toronto got rid of it due to monorail being ineffective and it isn't competitive with light rail or tube

[@brianocampo7981]

Oh those people living between Caulfield and Dandenong got me good. The lot were complaining that the elevated rail line would drive down the house prices. In the end, the house prices went up after it got constructed, not least because the traffic around the level crossings disappeared

[@andrewscott8892]

This is how people are everywhere, ya we want it built just not in my backyard

[@craigkdillon]

When I lived in London in the 90's, the Brits had a wonderful idea to expand the M25 with another lane. Well, not exactly expand the M25. They wanted to add a lane by repainting it from 4 to 5 lanes. That's right. Make all the lanes 25% narrower. What could go wrong with that??? (Note: They didn't do it. The members of Parliament woke up one day, and said, "Hang on!! Have we gone crazy?" So, they stopped it. Of course, it did not solve their essential problem --- they ARE crazy.)

[@robbutterill1426]

curiously, not all the lanes are equal anyway. Lanes 1 + 2 have always been around 3/400mm wider than the standard 3.65m to accomodate HGV’s. Lane 3/4 (on newer sections) tended to be narrower.

[@wrenclark4907]

im loving all the shots of Catford to illustrate the inadequacy of the south circular. i had to get the bus along that road every day to get to school, and yes, it is hard to believe that its all meant to be one road

[@RogerS1978]

I can't believe it was 11 years ago I first watched this, was living in the US but waiting to move home back to London. Seems like a couple of months some days. Keep up the good work.

[@chillnspace777]

Are you still in the states?

[@RogerS1978]

@@chillnspace777 No, did my year and went back to the UK although do miss the people and the place a lot

[@irkibby]

I work in a place that scans stuff to become digital copies for all kinds of companies and government agencies. Today I was putting archived maps and plans through a large format scanner detailing the future M25, and all I could think of was Thatcher chundering. Thankyou, I think?

[@lawrencecalablaster568]

Sad to see he missed out the bit in M25's construction where a certain A.J. Crowley carefully shaped it into the dread sigil Odegra.

[@rileybanks1191]

Can I get a 'wahoo?'

[@tec7101]

@@rileybanks1191 whaoo

[@themodelrailwayman5470]

Wahoo (also, knowing the kind of references Jay makes, it probably wouldve been mentioned if this was made after Good Omens was written)

[@gaiusmaecenas1861]

Blue Magma and The Model Railwayman It was made 20 years after GO was written.

[@gaiusmaecenas1861]

You mean A. *Jay* Crowley? There’s something fishy here...

[@stefansauvageonwhat-a-twis1369]

Love the swing music you played

[@anonimus370]

Recently discovered this channel and boy they've been around for a while.

[@ThePonko92]

"Everything we do is amazing!" *Shows a sign for Stevenage* 🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@MercenaryPen]

at least it wasn't Milton Keynes this time

[@peterallam6494]

Cycleways missing in latest developed Stevenage areas - disappeared with demise of Stevenage Development Corp.' Predestrianised Town Centre, & other areas, now danger zones with cyclists zooming around.

[@jackma9816]

8:46 no words

[@eddjcaine]

Love the random insert of York’s central hall :) your old alma mater!

[@sawyertargosz1396]

I was once in Bangkok and they have a massive ring road all around the city, it’s was like 18 lanes wide and had no traffic jams while I was there

[@anarghyasumanth8590]

I hear Bangkok has bad traffic.

[@shaunbot]

these are so well put together. i could watch these forever.

[@drzoidberg844]

shaunbot took the words right out of my keyboard

[@littlesnowflakepunk855]

I'm a big fan of Good Omens's depiction of the M25

[@galactic_nerd-sk4747]

Yes 😂

[@nebulonicc]

I was looking for this comment

[@ellac.949]

Gotta love the sigil opportunity the M25 affords

[@MegKBaker]

The m25 aka hell on earth

[@harrywilde8349]

@@nebulonicc me too 😂😂😂

[@mickyork41]

Just discovered this channel. It’s amazing. And watching old and new videos is equally enjoyable. Not like revisiting The Simpsons early series…

[@kissofthelabrador3998]

I thought it was very entertaining & informative. Good Job, thanks