A23 Brixton Road Traffic: Live Cameras & South London Guide | JamCams
Live cameras, peak hour guide, congestion hotspots and route planning tips — updated 2026-03-02.
The A23 is the spine of South London's road network, running from the Elephant and Castle through Kennington, Brixton, Streatham, Norbury and Croydon before heading to Brighton and the south coast. It is one of TfL's busiest bus corridors and carries a huge volume of local traffic alongside commuters from South London, Croydon and Surrey. The A23 Streatham High Road section is one of London's longest continuously developed high streets, with dense shopping and residential development generating pedestrian and local traffic throughout the day.
The A23's most reliably congested section is Brixton Road between the Oval and Brixton town centre. This stretch combines bus priority signals, multiple pedestrian crossings, side street junctions and the approach to Brixton tube station into a short section of road that rarely flows freely outside very early morning hours. The Oval junction itself is a complex multi-arm roundabout where the A3, A23 and A202 converge. Streatham High Road is slower but generally faster than Brixton Road, except during the school run.
Morning peak: 07:30–09:30 · Evening peak: 16:30–19:00
Outside these windows, the A23 typically flows much more freely. Saturdays can be busy between 11:00–15:00.
These TfL JamCam feeds cover the A23 across London. Each image updates every 5 minutes — click any camera to see the full live feed and nearby cameras.
Showing 8 of 27 A23 cameras. Browse all cameras →
Typical congestion levels on the A23 by hour. Green = free-flowing, red/orange = heavy delays.
| 00–05 | 05–07 | 07–08 | 08–09 | 09–10 | 10–12 | 12–14 | 14–16 | 16–17 | 17–18 | 18–19 | 19–21 | 21–24 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mon–Thu | ▓ | ▓ | ▓ | ▓ | ▓ | ▓ | ▓ | ▓ | ▓ | ▓ | ▓ | ▓ | ▓ |
| Friday | ▓ | ▓ | ▓ | ▓ | ▓ | ▓ | ▓ | ▓ | ▓ | ▓ | ▓ | ▓ | ▓ |
| Saturday | ▓ | ▓ | ▓ | ▓ | ▓ | ▓ | ▓ | ▓ | ▓ | ▓ | ▓ | ▓ | ▓ |
| Sunday | ▓ | ▓ | ▓ | ▓ | ▓ | ▓ | ▓ | ▓ | ▓ | ▓ | ▓ | ▓ | ▓ |
The A23 is one of TfL's most intensively managed bus corridors — signal timings favour buses heavily, which can make waits for general traffic longer than expected.
The Brixton section has no good workaround — if you must use it in peak hours, allow substantially more time than off-peak journeys suggest.
If heading south past Streatham, the B273 Tulse Hill/Norwood Road route avoids Streatham High Road entirely.
Check the Oval junction camera first — if that shows stationary traffic, the whole A23 northbound will be slow.
If the A23 is heavily congested, these alternatives are worth considering:
The entire A23 within Greater London is inside the ULEZ. The northern section near the Oval is close to or inside the Congestion Charge Zone boundary — check at tfl.gov.uk. Non-compliant vehicles pay £12.50 per day. Check at tfl.gov.uk/ulez.
Brixton is a major transport hub — it has a London Underground station, a bus station, a market and one of South London's busiest high streets, all directly on or adjacent to the A23. This generates an unusually high density of pedestrian and vehicle movement in a relatively narrow road environment. Bus signal priority means general traffic gets shorter green phases than the volume of vehicles would suggest.
Yes — the A23 is the main road between London and Brighton, continuing from Croydon southward as the A23/A23(M) through Gatwick Airport (where it connects to the M23 motorway) and on to Brighton. The M23 motorway section is generally the fastest option for Brighton journeys, though the A23 surface road is scenic through the Surrey Hills.
Streatham High Road has a 30 mph speed limit along most of its length as a designated high street. Average speed cameras are present in some sections. The wider dual-carriageway sections south of Norbury have a 30 mph limit, though they can feel faster due to the road width.
The Oval roundabout is near but generally outside the Congestion Charge Zone boundary. Traffic heading north from the Oval towards Vauxhall Bridge and Westminster enters the CCZ. The A23 southbound from Oval — towards Brixton and beyond — is outside the CCZ. Use TfL's CCZ boundary tool to check your specific route.