It had been talked about for decades, and now London has done it. Since Monday 26 October, the central section of Oxford Street, between Orchard Street (near the Selfridges department store) and Great Portland Street, via Oxford Circus, has been reserved for pedestrians. That is around 900 metres of one of the busiest shopping streets in the world, which sees some half a million visitors a day.
What changes in practice
Buses, taxis, private hire vehicles, bicycles, pedicabs, scooters and e-bikes are banned from the stretch. Mobility scooters remain allowed, as do emergency vehicles and some delivery and cleaning vehicles at set times. North-south streets continue to cross the avenue.
Bus routes are diverted onto neighbouring streets, with new stops on Wigmore Street, Henrietta Place and Cavendish Place. Tip for tourists: check your bus route before setting off, as some journeys take a few minutes longer at peak times.
Just before the holidays
The timing is no coincidence. London Mayor Sadiq Khan wanted the street cleared before the big Christmas shopping season. Initially, the layout remains temporary: benches, rest areas, trees and new signage are arriving gradually, and users are invited to give their feedback. A transitional scheme is due to be in place by the end of spring 2027. Eventually, the space is meant to host shops as well as cultural, sporting and festive events.
A project that divides opinion
Sadiq Khan had promised full pedestrianisation by 2020 as soon as he was elected in 2016. The project then went through numerous twists and turns. Westminster Council, which runs the area, criticises a rushed timetable and fears that traffic will spill over into the small neighbouring streets. It had considered legal action before dropping the idea in June. West End retailers, for their part, welcome a major transformation, and a public consultation found seven out of ten respondents in favour.
Getting there from Belgium
From Brussels-Midi, the Eurostar reaches London in just over two hours, making a weekend getaway possible. With the Christmas lights above an Oxford Street finally free of buses, the experience may well be worth the trip.
Sources : Zag Daily, Le Petit Journal, ITV, FashionUnited, IanVisits
Photo: Txllxt TxllxT / CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
