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. Just 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.
TfL has been working since summer 2016 to reduce the number of buses operating along Oxford Street by 40%.
With the opening of the Elizabeth line, this number would be reduced further – with just two routes (route 139 and route 390), rerouted to operate along Wigmore Street, Henrietta Place, and Cavendish Square.
New and extended taxi ranks would be created close to Oxford Street to allow Black Cabs to continue to pick up and drop off.
When combined with other taxi ranks being built and extended across the wider area, this would see the total number of rank spaces increase by 20% by 2020.
Taxis would also still be able to cross Oxford Street at Duke Street, Stratford Place, Vere Street and Harewood Place.
While cyclists would need to dismount when travelling along this section of Oxford Street, TfL and Westminster City Council are committed to providing cycling improvements in the surrounding area.
In summer 2018 they will consult on new high-quality cycle routes along quieter roads to the north and south of Oxford Street.
As well as Oxford Street, Westminster City Council and TfL also plan to deliver a range of pedestrian and cycling improvements to the local area as part of a package of measures to support the transformation of the whole Oxford Street district.
More than 2km of pavements would be widened and improved to provide more space for local residents and visitors.
Six new pedestrian crossings would be installed along Wigmore Street to provide better crossing options.
Cavendish Square would also be improved with new and enhanced crossings to better connect Holles Street and Harley Street to the open space as well as plans to create new entrances to Cavendish Square Gardens aligned with the new crossings in the future.
In all, at least 25 new pedestrian crossings would be installed across the area. Traffic signals across the West End would also be altered and improved to manage any traffic impacts.
To view the full designs and respond to the consultation, visit www.tfl.gov.uk/oxford-street
