cross-posted from: https://sh.itjust.works/post/68956633
London (AFP) – A stretch of London’s iconic Oxford Street was made traffic-free “forever” starting Monday, as pedestrians took over the country’s most famous shopping street, absent of the capital’s red double-decker buses and black cabs.
“This is a momentous day for Oxford Street, but also for London,” Mayor Sadiq Khan told reporters on the thoroughfare, one of the busiest shopping zones in Europe.
“I want to be supporting our shops in Oxford Street and have a kilometre worth of this street – almost half of this street – traffic-free forever,” Khan said, adding the pedestrianisation would increase the number of shoppers.
The street brings in some £3.1 billion ($4.1 billion) spending annually, but has faced challenges, including shops shuttering during the Covid-19 pandemic and a loss of footfall due to a shift to online shopping.
“Over the last couple of decades it’s been in decline, I’d say managed decline,” Khan told BBC Radio 4 about the street lined with luxury retailers, clothing chains, and department stores.
“I’m not willing to stand by as shops leave this street, as jobs leave this street,” he said.
But the scheme has proved controversial among residents worried about traffic jams in neighbouring areas as well as among disability rights activists.
Khan said there were cab ranks and bus stops near the street so people can still access the area with ease.
“For centuries, Oxford Street has reinvented itself, adapting to changing times and helping shape British culture along the way,” he added, saying the move would “revitalise” the road and make the capital “greener”.
Around half the street has been pedestrianised, with plans to close off the rest to vehicles depending on the success of the first phase.
“Today marks an exciting new chapter for Oxford Street as work begins to transform one of the world’s most iconic high streets,” said Meave Wall, chief retail and digital officer at the Selfridges department store, which opened on the West End road more than a century ago.
‘forever’ until torys get Mayor or farage decides to get into locals.
Oxford street, when i lived there ( well. . . lived 35min north, worked 20 min south - so i walked there a lot), 10-20 ya, was ‘at capacity’ for everything from 10am-8pm most of the year and especially at decemberween.
Tube stations often closed / exit only for overcrowding ,busses rammed and congested, pavements chock-a , shops overflowing. To walk along more than 2 blocks, you went north one block, and december you crossed either down past TCR, or up at hydepark / Edgware road (until cunt-boris filled in the marble arch underpasses because he was scared of the people his buddies refused to house having somewhere out of the rain).
So ok. get rid of taxis 100% yes, fuck taxis. But the buses ( a lot of em) still have to get E-W, have them weave up and down to side streets seems like insanity. maybe they need to create a proper bus corridor (or tram ) but we’d probably have to have the guts to do CPO without compensating land cost and scarcity rent (i.e building construction cost only). Or better, to guillotine the top landowners (by market value) regularly.
if they can get more peds in there, they’ll create pinch points wherever buses and tubes are. Since then they’ve improved TCR and Bond st with crossrail - great - but that probably just dumps even more people in at peak. Ive not ben there to prove this, fortunately i don’t need to. Maybe oxford circus is 100% exit only now.
A (slightly faster than walking) tram shuttle in between the tubes might be good, ideally hop on hop off like the good old routemaster bus. Or maybe a few travellators.
The main thing that i think they need to do is make, or just promote, some other destinations. Ideally ones that aren’t fucking soulless westfield shopping centres, but at least they handle the capacity better. How many tourists go to like , i dunno wood st market. . . Meh , second thoughts, do we want that? maybe subsidise them to go to westfield(s). Ramp up the tourist tax too - i assume they have one by now, city should get a better share of that congestion rent than fucking landlords.