London Mayor Sadiq Khan has published plans to make the western end of Oxford Street free of traffic and cyclists by December 2018, coinciding with the opening of Crossrail. Two bus routes will remain, diverted along adjacent streets.
The plans sees all east-west traffic restricted from entering Oxford Street between Orchard Street and Oxford Circus, while maintaining north-south routes through that section.
The carriageway would be raised to be level with the existing pavements between Orchard Street and Oxford Circus during this first stage, making the area more accessible for everyone.
New seating would be placed along the street to give people a chance to rest and spend time enjoying the area. A new 800m-long work of public art could also be commissioned for the length of the former carriageway, acting as a centrepiece for the transformed street.
A full “transformation scheme”, covering the whole of Oxford Street and “potentially” funded by the Government and major local landowners and employers in the Oxford Street area, would be in place by 2021.
The plans have been designed to fit with the wider extensive improvements being made across the West End, including the transformation of Bond Street and Tottenham Court Road stations in advance of the Elizabeth line, the Baker Street two-way project, and changes to the Tottenham Court Road/Gower Street area.
New and extended taxi ranks would be created close to Oxford Street to allow black cabs to continue to pick up and drop off.
In summer 2018 TfL and Westminster City Council will consult on new high-quality cycle routes along quieter roads to the north and south of Oxford Street.
To view the full designs and respond to the consultation, visit tfl.gov.uk/oxford-street
