London Oxford Street's pedestrianisation: what you need to know

It’s finally happening. London’s Oxford Street is being partially pedestrianised this month.

From 26th October, almost every form of transport bar legs will be barred from roughly a kilometer of the famous shopping street.

That includes cars, bicycles, taxis and buses.

The first stretch to be pedestrianised runs from Orchard Street to Great Portland Street. While this doesn’t include some of the busiest parts of the strip, the bit running from Great Portland Street to Charing Cross Road, this strategy no doubt reduces the immediate effect on traffic flows in the wider area.

But it does include IKEA, the spot where the giant Topshop used to reside.

This has been one of the key aims of London Mayor Sadiq Khan, and it should help make the always-busy street much less of a nightmare to navigate.

“Following strong support from Londoners and businesses, I'm excited to see my bold vision for Oxford Street really coming to life next month as we start going traffic-free, just in time for the busy Christmas shopping period,” Khan said after the date was announced.

“On 26 October the transformation of the nation's high street into a pedestrian plaza will begin in earnest – a world-class space where flagship retail will sit alongside next-generation workplaces, designed to host exciting retail and leisure experiences from sport to fashion and cultural events in the future.”

Earlier this year we saw concept images of how a pedestrianised Oxford Street might look, lined with trees while the thoroughfare was painted green. But it’s not yet clear what timescale we’re looking at for a full, footfall-friendly revamp of the space beyond banning vehicles.

Further pedestrianisation of the street also has a big TBC over it, although this initial stretch has been dubbed the “first stage” of the plans.

The Oxford Street Development Corporetaion told Londonist in August that it was “exploring the potential” to move beyond that first phase, although that this is a relatively politically incendiary topic makes such moves fraught.

Westminster City Council doesn’t sound too happy about it, for one.

“Westminster City Council, residents and businesses on Oxford Street still have a long list of unanswered questions about how it will work,” says councillor Tim Barnes, who is deputy leader of Westminster City Council.

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