About This Camera
Camera Location & Hazard Overview
Two major routes meet at Westhorne Avenue and Sidcup Road in New Eltham — effectively where the South Circular meets the A20 — making this one of the busier interchanges serving traffic moving between Eltham, Mottingham and the wider South Circular network. It's one of the few genuinely multi-directional junctions on this list, with traffic converging from four distinct approaches rather than a simple through-route.
Traffic Pattern & Congestion Trends
Consistently heavy traffic holds through the day given the junction's role linking two major routes, with sharper peaks matching the standard weekday commute but less of a quiet midday lull than more purely residential stretches. Roadworks scheduled on any one approach here tend to have an outsized knock-on effect on the other three, given how tightly the junction is signalled, and the resulting confusion over right of way is a recurring cause of a non-fault accident claim at this specific crossing.
Traffic Fines & Camera Enforcement
Signal cameras and average speed checks cover this multi-approach junction, reflecting its complexity. The volume of traffic changing direction here, rather than passing straight through, is the main driver of the enforcement focus at this specific point. The wider Ultra Low Emission Zone charge also applies throughout this stretch, on top of any parking or loading penalty.
Road Closures & Alternative Routes
Drivers able to plan ahead can sometimes avoid this junction by using Court Road as a parallel route between Eltham and Mottingham, rejoining Sidcup Road further south. Regular commuters between Eltham and Mottingham generally prefer Court Road as a parallel route, rejoining Sidcup Road further south to bypass this junction entirely. It's worth having a second option in mind before you set off, rather than deciding only once you hit traffic.
Driver Safety & Local Tips
Conditions at this junction rarely has a genuinely quiet period — if you use it regularly, building in a consistent buffer of 5-10 minutes is more realistic than hoping to catch it clear.
ULEZ & Emissions
Greenwich sits inside the expanded Ultra Low Emission Zone, which has run 24/7 since August 2023. Non-compliant petrol cars pre-2006 and diesels pre-2015 pay £12.50 a day on top of any Congestion Charge liability. Check a specific plate at tfl.gov.uk/ulez before travelling into the borough.
Parking near A205 Westhorne Av/Sidcup Rd, East London
This junction where the South Circular meets Sidcup Road in New Eltham has largely residential parking nearby, under a Royal Borough of Greenwich CPZ typically enforced Monday to Saturday daytime. Sidcup Road itself has some pay-and-display bays serving local shops, though options are more limited than in central Eltham. Court Road and the surrounding streets offer a reasonable fallback if the immediate junction area is tightly parked. Single yellow lines permit loading outside CPZ hours only. Weekend parking is generally easier here than on a weekday, when local commuter and school-run traffic both compete for the same residential bays. Full CPZ information and PCN appeals: royalgreenwich.gov.uk/parking.
If on-street parking is hard to find, apps like JustPark and YourParkingSpace let you pre-book a private driveway or car park nearby — typically from around £2–£6 per hour or £10–£25 per day depending on how central the location is.
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