Cyclists will be banned from riding through the pedestrianised section of Oxford Street under Sadiq Khan’s plans to ban traffic from the thoroughfare.
The mayor announced on Tuesday that he had secured Government support to re-boot seven-year-old plans to make the “nation’s most famous high street” traffic-free, starting with the stretch between Oxford Circus and Selfridges.
He told the Standard that cyclists would be included the restrictions, which will also remove buses, cars, taxis and delivery vehicles and give priority to pedestrians.
Mr Khan said: “I’m quite clear: in that part of the street we pedestrianise, 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 pedestrianise, [and] cars, minicabs, taxis, racing cyclists. What I do want is pedestrians walking around and going to the shops.”
Cyclists will be BANNED from the pedestrianised section of Oxford St, says @SadiqKhan pic.twitter.com/ckzSFEp1fP
— Ross Lydall (@RossLydall) September 17, 2024
He added: “This will be a world-class public space in which we can curate leisure events and cultural events to encourage people to come here.”
Jeremy Vine, the broadcaster and prominent cycling campaigner, backed the mayor’s proposals. He tweeted: “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.”
However, the decision to prevent cyclists riding the length of the street will pile pressure on the mayor and Westminster council to deliver a safe alternative east-west route.
At present, cyclists are advised to travel via New Cavendish Street westbound and Weymouth Street eastbound but neither route is protected.
Westminster Cycling Campaign said 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”.
Westminster council has promised to deliver three cycleways in the borough by 2026 but campaigners complain that the Labour-run authority has ditched plans to segregate the routes from vehicles, including on George Street in Marylebone.
Mr Khan plans to drive through the changes to Oxford Street by seizing control from the council by establishing a mayoral development corporation. He wants the first changes to be made within two years.
He said the opening of the Elizabeth line and the Hopper bus fare – which allows passengers to make multiple trips within an hour for the price of a single fare – would make it easier to remove buses from Oxford Street.
Visiting the John Lewis department store with Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner on Tuesday for a photo-shoot, Mr Khan said Oxford Street had been in “managed decline” for years.
He said he had been “embarrassed” by the state of the street when he visited on Saturday. He criticised the number of “candy shops”, and said 14 per cent of shops were vacant – above the national average.
Mr Khan said: “We have got shops that are empty. We have got a proliferation of US-style candy stores.
“The flagship stores that I remember – such as Topshop – are no longer here. House of Fraser is no longer here. Debenhams, my old shop, that I used to work in [as a teenager], is no longer here.
“It’s no surprise that people are using online shopping. It’s no surprise that people are going to out-of-town shopping centres. It’s no surprise that the flagship stores that haven’t left are thinking about their future in Oxford Street.
“I want to transform this street. I want it to be greener, safer and more hospitable to visitors, tourists, residents, businesses.”
Westminster council said it had reduced the number of candy shops from 30 to 21 and had taken more than £1m of unsafe and illegal goods off the street in raids by trading standards officials.
