To think, get rid of the driving restrictions, make parking easier and watch Oxford Street flourish 🤷‍♀️

I have lived in Zone 1 or 2 central London for 20 plus years. In Islington it's a rare development that has underground parking these days and many new developments that go up are restricted to even not allow on street parking for residents. My sibling lives in one of these and it was built probably 15 years ago. Most councils are trying to reduce access to parking/cars. I get that people out of London may like driving in but the arteries into London are clogged. The A1 as an example is not something you want to encourage more traffic on to.
I agree it's sad to see Oxford Circus dying but the answer IMHO isn't parking. The answer is to reinvent it as a destination. Look at Coal Drops Yard as an example ... restaurants, sunny space, outdoor seating in the summer, green spaces, retail, fountains for kids, some street markets, art fairs that sort of thing gets people to visit. Going to see the same list of shops on Oxford St that you can see on any high street or mall is not inspiring people to visit

ah yes, it’s not the (widespread far beyond the UK) collapse of retail due to online shopping plus the insane cost of London rents meaning there’s nothing but identikit chain stores that means Oxford Street is shite. It’s the lack of parking spaces. Sure.

Have you actually been to Oxford Street? Or in fact London?

Manchester one is fairly sizeable. And although Market St on a Saturday can be a trial it’s nowhere near Oxford St conditions. But it’s pedestrianised. Can’t park there. So there’s that to think about too.

@Bjorkdidit there's a Uniqlo at Battersea Power Station. It's on two floors so I don't know if that counts as a big branch.

@Mangoesintoapub I've read the book about the history of Selfridges and how it used to be sounds so much nicer than what it is now.
It's loud, hot and claustrophobic.
Maybe a time machine it's what's needed for Oxford Street 😂

Only reason I go to Oxford Street is because I know there's a big Uniqlo there (I don't live in London and am unreasonably annoyed that there's several branches in London and hardly any elsewhere in the country).

Can any Londoners please tell me which of the other branches similarly large so likely to stock the whole range?

Your proposal makes no sense OP.
Car ownership in London is actually decreasing, despite the population increasing.
Cars take up a lot more space than buses, bikes and other forms of public transport and are a woefully inefficient way to more large numbers of people around.
People walking and cycling spend more on average than people who drive to High Streets. Stats below.
Vehicle traffics is noisy, polluting and takes up space that can be used for people.
You want more families to enjoy a day out in central London but then complain that places like Westfield are packed. Which is it?
If you want to go shopping and have ample parking there's loads of retail parks, outlet centres and places for you to go.
"Honking horns" is not part of the "hustle and bustle" of the city. It's aggressive, often illegal and unpleasant to hear. I personally like to hear people chatting as part of the hustle and bustle.
I'm glad they are considering this and fully support it. I'd like to see Seven Dials and the Kings Road closed to through traffic too as I think that would be really nice.
content.tfl.gov.uk/walking-cycling-economic-benefits-summary-pack.pdf

This Londoner doesn't want to drive.

TFL rerouted lots of buses that used to go to Oxford Street direct , I read the consultation when they did it and the idea was locals would use the Elizabeth line more so they changed loads of routes. What actually happened was people just popped on the bus and went elsewhere.High Street Ken is much busier now. Not saying it’s the only factor but I think the bus changes did mean less serious shopping footfall overall.

Just get the bloody Lizzie line.

No one in their right mind would spend 90 mins driving to a shithole like Oxford St, even if there was a massive multi storey car park, paying CC and possibly ULEZ, when public transport gets you there in half the time.

Speaking as a Londoner who loves to drive, the reason people don’t want to go to Oxford Street is not the lack of parking, it’s because it’s a shithole. It takes too long to walk anywhere because of all the tourists and the only shops of either dull chains or American Sweets. No one is suddenly going to start going to American Sweets because they made driving easier. Anyway there’s an NCP round the back of John Lewis where you can always get a space because no one wants to drive to Oxford Street.

They should pedestrianise the whole thing and make it mixed used space - some shops but also entertainment, places to eat etc. more like Covent Garden or Marylebone High Street. Get rid of the big dept stores, have smaller and more
interesting shops below with flats above.

I did used to drive into London on Sunday morning. It was quick & I think parking used to be free. Bit of brunch & mooch round Topshop.

What would you demolish to prioritise cars?

Oxford Street is about the easiest place to access in Central London via public transport as it is, including wheelchair access on some of the tube lines / buses.

I think the number of people who would actively choose to drive there is very low. And there is parking around there already, if you really can’t bear to use public transport - others have linked to specifics.

Our high street used to be so good with fashion you couldn't get in other countries but people want cheap & everything is homogeneous.

Why drive to Oxford Street when you can easily get there by cab or public transport?

They pretty much made the Elizabeth Line have stops along Oxford Street to make it more accessible. The Elizabeth Line is fully step free.
So it's been done for you already @mumofoneAlonebutokay .

The idea people that people would drive in from Essex and Kent to shop on Oxford Street if the parking was better is mental.

There are countless, far quicker, accessible, ways to Oxford Street.

The problem with Oxford Street is, IMO:

• Increasingly feels unsafe due to pickpockets etc. I’ve had stuff stolen out of my pram there - never happened anywhere else
• Unbearably large number of people make it a miserable experience. I go with some regularity for the big department stores as often nearby with work, and even doing that at midday on a Tuesday it’s unbearable.
• Rents are high and so many shops have abandoned their sites there
• So many units just cheap shops or duplicates (how many Uniqlos can one city possibly need)
• Popularity of other more upmarket shopping zone eg Covent Garden

Oh also the homeless / begging situation is extraordinary. Don’t really fancy navigating 200 men begging for money, crutches, injuries, bare feet, blatant drug taking etc while shopping with the kids.

Town centre high streets possibly but Oxford Street? It's accessible by numerous tube stations and bus routes. I can't imagine why anyone would want to drive there.

Fair enough.
Then we lived in London we would never go there for shopping. And would never drive there.