Traffic to be banned from London’s Oxford Street under Sadiq Khan plan
Mayor to be given power to overrule Westminster council, which blocked previous plan amid concerns over rerouting buses
Seems like a good idea. It's not like any cars or busses actually drive there, being all stuck in congestion anyway.
I read a while back that the average speed of a bus in central London is 3 (three!) miles per hour.
I remember walking down Oxford Street as a kid and the pollution from all the vehicles stuck in traffic there was choking. I know they've worked on pollution measures since but I'm sure people still avoid it because of that.
Yeah, it's not exactly a fun walk even now. I normally go through Soho if I'm in the area even if it takes longer.
That's a bit like saying you can find cheaper rollercoasters outside Disney Land.
It's true, but price isn't why people go. It's prestige and experience.
Good idea, keep businesses out of the area
If you think this is going to stop business in the area then you've clearly never been there
Famously every business on Oxford Street is drive-through only
They'll never compete against online shopping prices or convenience. Making it harder to traverse isn't going to fix that. But it will make it a nicer day out for tourists.
Who drives down Oxford Street? I think I’ve done it once in 20 years. Other roads are available.
This. Roads used to be for people not cars
I’ll actively avoid it and take other routes. When I did removals in London, we’d go out of our way to avoid similar roads, they’re always extra hassle. It makes loads of sense to prioritise pedestrians
Whenever I have walked down there it's mostly buses and taxis with a few cars peppered in.
Been ages since I've walked along there but I remember far more people than cars and at times the street is completely empty.
But it will make it a nicer day out for tourists.
Isn’t that what Oxford Street is, more or less a tourist attraction? I don’t imagine many people going for their weekly shop.
Except most studies say that when you limit car traffic and have the streets be walkable more people walk through that street and the business of most shop increases?
Making it harder to traverse
Have you ever actually walked down oxford street?
The pavements are normally crammed, and there are 3 million cars a minute fighting for the road space.
Adding 5x as much space for pedestrians is a fantastic idea.
It'll be a tiny, tiny minority of people not visiting OS because they can't park/taxi/bus to the shop front, and a huge number of people going there because it's a nice experience with no traffic.
You are right that they can't compete directly with online shopping, but that's not why people go there. Studies have consistently shown that closing shopping areas to through-traffic is good for businesses, precisely because it makes them easier, not harder, to access. Shops don't benefit in any way from hundreds of cars (or, in this case, buses and taxis) driving past them!
EDIT: Thought I should link to a specific study rather than just vaguely waving at them. There are many to choose from but this one is particularly interesting because it's from the US, where they generally don't have good cycling and public transport infrastructure, but it still shows benefits for businesses:
While we observed some mixed results, we generally found that street improvements have either positive impacts on corridor economic and business performance or non-significant impacts.
It's important to note that nothing always works everywhere ('some mixed results', here), but the balance of evidence is in favour of at least trialling traffic reduction schemes in commercial districts.
i have never understood this, online shopping is hilariously much more expensive and inconvenient than just popping down to the shops
also removing cars almost always makes it easier to get around, not sure why you'd think it would make things harder?
The price conscious aren't going to Oxford street, did you even read the article?
I read it, and there was a weird claim that pedestrianisation would make it harder for the poor's to access.
Because they couldn't either take the underground, or a bus, to the end of the road.
Harder to traverse for whom? Nobody drives down there currently so this would be no different. This will actually make it much easier for the tens of thousands of people that walk there every day