The Mayor of London has announced that a one kilometre stretch of Oxford Street will become vehicle free from October 26.
Lord Sadiq Khan said the change, which will remove all cars, buses, taxis and cycles from the road between Orchard Street near Selfridges and Great Portland Street, would happen just before the start of the Christmas shopping season.
The move is the first of several steps to permanently pedestrianise the section by the end of 2027, a project which will also create two new public squares.
However concerns have been raised about several aspects of the proposals, including that they have been rushed through without regard to their environmental impact on surrounding areas as well as public safety issues.
Other issues raised include accessibility for those with reduced mobility and how bicycles will be prevented from entering the restricted zone.
Speaking at the Politico Pub during Labour’s annual conference in Liverpool, Lord Khan said the scheme would mark the start of a ‘transformation’ into a ‘world class pedestrianised space’.
He said: ‘We look at the history of our great street Oxford Street, we’ve had decline, some would say managed decline, some would say unmanaged decline.’
‘We’ve seen as a consequence of I think managed decline all sorts of shops on Oxford Street that really shouldn’t be there. What you see since I made my announcement about making it traffic free is a massive increase in interest with good quality retail coming to Oxford Street.
‘We want good quality retail on our nation’s high street and that’s going to happen.’
The Mayor hit out at opponents to the plans at Westminster City Council, and refused to rule out the possibility of further extending the scheme out towards Tottenham Court Road and Marble Arch.
‘I think we need to be cognisant about making sure you do this properly’, he said.
However Westminster Council Leader Cllr Paul Swaddle questioned the lack of information as to how pedestrianisation would work, including access arrangements for delivery vehicles.
‘The Mayor calls asking how deliveries, cleaning, access and safety will work ‘knee jerk opposition’. It isn’t It’s being a responsible custodian of Oxford Street, and residents deserve answers before 26 October’, he said.
He told a board meeting of the Oxford Street District Corporation earlier this month that the Council did not have powers to stop cyclists on pavements or in pedestrianised areas.