London (Parliament Politics Magazine) – Cyclists will be prohibited from riding through the pedestrianized area of Oxford Street under Sadiq Khan’s plans to restrict traffic from the thoroughfare.
The mayor Sadiq Khan announced that he had secured Government backing to re-boot seven-year-old techniques to make the “nation’s most famous high street” traffic-free, beginning with the stretch between Oxford Circus and Selfridges.
How does Sadiq Khan plan to transform Oxford Street?
He said that cyclists would be included in the regulations, which will also release buses, cars, taxis, and delivery vehicles and give priority to pedestrians. Mr Khan stated: “I’m quite clear: in that part of the street we pedestrianize, I want it to be for people to walk around. There will be places to lock up your bike. There will be alternative [routes], in terms of getting from one side of Oxford Street to the other. I want buses off Oxford Street in this part we pedestrianize, [and] cars, minicabs, taxis, racing cyclists. What I do want is pedestrians walking around and going to the shops.”
He said: “This will be a world-class public space in which we can curate leisure events and cultural events to encourage people to come here.”
What does Jeremy Vine say about the Oxford Street changes?
Jeremy Vine, the broadcaster and renowned cycling campaigner, backed the mayor’s recommendations. He said: “I don’t have a problem with this at all. The centre of London will be way gentler with an all-pedestrian Oxford Street. It will also calm Marble Arch down, and continue the improvement of Park Lane that began when [Transport for London] put in the cycle lane. The fewer cars in central London, the safer it is to cycle.”
What are the concerns of the London cycling campaign?
The decision to control cyclists riding the length of the street will stack pressure on the mayor and Westminster council to provide a safe alternative east-west route. At present, cyclists are urged to travel via New Cavendish Street westbound and Weymouth Street eastbound but neither route is shielded. Westminster Cycling Campaign expressed there was a need for “several” parallel cycle routes, while its parent organisation, the London Cycling Campaign, has called for the entire West End to be made “car-free”.