Could banning cars turn London’s Oxford Street from ‘hell’ into paradise?

Is London’s Oxford Street hell?

This question – answered in the affirmative by many Tripadvisor users – may seem dramatic. But navigating ‘Britain’s high street’ at rush hour can feel like a form of biblical punishment. Swarms of pedestrians compete for space on narrow pavements; cabs and double decker busses dodge devil-may-care cyclists; music blares from 1,000 American candy stores. You vow to shop online next time.

London mayor Sadiq Khan admits that Oxford Street – once the “jewel in the crown of Britain’s retail sector” – has “suffered hugely” in recent years.

This decline has prompted the mayor’s latest policy announcement: a £150m plan to ban vehicles on a 0.7 mile (1.1km) stretch of the famous shopping street. The initial phase will pedestrianise the area between Oxford Circus and Marble Arch, with possible extensions towards Tottenham Court Road to follow.

“[The plans] will help to restore this famous part of the capital to its former glory, while creating new jobs and economic prosperity for the capital and the country,” Khan promised on Tuesday (17 September).

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The plan was initially proposed in 2017 but was blocked by the previous Conservative-controlled Westminster City Council. The council cited “majority opposition” among its residents.

But deputy prime Minister Angela Rayner is expected to sign off on a proposed “mayoral development area”, granting the mayor more powers to override the local block. The plans have not been dated, but previous timelines suggest that the western part of Oxford Street could be pedestrianised by 2027, subject to a statutory consultation and approval by the Labour-led London Assembly.

Westminster council said it was “blindsided” by the move. But the project has been welcomed by experts, who claim it will reduce pollution and boost footfall.

“At the moment, Oxford Street is a bit of a hostile environment,” said Barbara Stoll, director of the Clean Cities Campaign.

“Speaking for myself here: if you go there to shop, you often end up running away. It’s very loud, it’s very polluted, it’s very crowded. Everyone is squashed onto the sidewalk, which really doesn’t do justice for how important the street is.”

Pedestrianising the street would reduce air and noise pollution in the area. Eliminating vehicle traffic cuts carbon emissions, said Hirra Khan Adeogun, co-director of charity Possible, who described the plans as “good for the climate”.

“Oxford Street is one of London’s most iconic locations and it’s been a permanent traffic jam for far too long,” he added.

The move could “reinvigorate” the declining high street, enthused Stoll, where shuttered shops and ‘to-let’ awnings have become a depressingly common sight.

Huge names like Topshop, Debenhams, House of Fraser, Gap and Carphone Warehouse have disappeared from Oxford Street in recent years. The pandemic, hybrid working and online shopping have eroded footfall and customer spend.

“Pedestrianisation can help turn this sort of decline around,” said Stoll. “It can reinvigorate the streets, re-inject them with energy.”

“More people will come to a pedestrianised area or street, and that foot traffic turns increased sales volumes for the local shops. People also tend to spend more time in those shops, and tend to spend more time in the area, because it becomes obviously much more pleasant.”

According to Living Streets, improving the pedestrian experience can increase footfall by 20-35%, while shoppers on foot spend up to six times more than those who arrive by car. Unsurprisingly, then, retailers have welcomed the plans: John Lewis executive director Peter Ruis said that the group were “delighted” to see the plans announced today.

There are legitimate concerns to be addressed, including access requirements for disabled people. The Elizabeth line is step-free all the way, providing some guarantee of access – but Stoll called for the plans to be implemented “thoughtfully”.

“The street is already very hostile for people with disabilities, because these narrow sidewalks have no space to, for example, move a wheelchair,” she said.

There are no shortage of positive international examples.

In Brussels, a 2015 pedestrianisation resulted in a “strong increase” in appreciation of the shops, bars and restaurants in the city, according to a 2021 impact report.

In Ljubljana, 17 hectares of city streets were pedestrianised in 2007. Removing cars saw air pollution fall by a whopping 70 per cent, and the number of journeys taken by foot has jumped from 19 per cent to roughly 35 per cent.

This success occurred despite strong initial opposition. “Everybody said the city was going to die,” Matic Sopotnik, a city official, told the Big Issue in 2022. “But actually, the opposite happened”.

Pedestrianisation naysayers often end up supportive of the initiative, said Stoll.

“Internationally speaking, just talking about Brussels, or looking at Copenhagen, or some of the Spanish cities that have done this, there’s always objection in the beginning,” she said. “And then once it’s done, everybody realises that, ‘Oh my God, this is actually quite wonderful.’”

“This is the best possible thing that could happen to Oxford Street. It will give us back the freedom to move around in these areas, and to reconnect with this iconic and beautiful place.”

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