Tories vow to stop Oxford Street pedestrianisation

[mumofoneAloneandwell]

https://www.google.com/amp/s/metro.co.uk/2026/05/08/tories-vow-block-150-000-000-oxford-street-revamp-central-london-council-win-28287239/amp/

Do you agree with them? For me, i'm not in favour. Not all disabled people use a wheelchair, some rely on the busses/taxis to see Oxford Steeet

I’ve lived in Central London long enough to remember the traffic jams down Oxford Street so it took forever to get along it, never mind all the pollution. It really wasn’t pleasant to shop there at all.

I suspect you can drive down there in the evenings? I'm sure I have done to see the christmas lights with dd, my fave time of year!

Yes, after a certain time when all the shops are closed. You really are trolling now.

?? I was genuinely responding to you 😫🙄

Anyway

Hopefully the tories stop Khan

Whatever your view on night noise and 24 hour London - stopping busses and cabs from driving people who cant manage the whole street on foot - isnt on 😔

You will easily be able to get up and down the streets behind Oxford street I. A cab or a bus. Surely pedestrianisation will make it more accessible for wheelchair users? Plus only one section is to be pedestrianised. It's a sh@t show at the moment. I do t buy the 'traffic nightmare' scenario. It's resolvable.

Re any disabled people struggling to get along the new Oxford St.. would some kind of monorail or mini train on wheels of the kind you get winding its way along the Cote d'Azur be an option?

I like the idea of a pedestrianised Oxford St but I don't live in London, I'm an occasional visitor. Oxford St seems to lack any kind of charm these days, few lovely little boutique shops it seems - it needs curating really. I'll dip into areas off Oxford St for sure - Soho mainly, and the Prince Charles cinema, Wardour St, Old Compton St, nice places for a coffee, maybe onto Marylebone but Oxford St itself feels wrong and not worth the bother. I can't think of anything there that is of any use really, it all seems a bit speculative or the sense some of the shops might be for money laundering, or like those odd TV channels that get bought up just to show rubbish and so someone can bagsy their place.

Most Londoners don't bother with Oxford St now, it's grim and the shops are a mix of those awful money laundering American candy fronts, stalls selling tourist rubbish and vape shops.
IMO, pedestrianising it will bring back Londoners which will in turn attract more upmarket cafes, restaurants and shops, turning it back into a proper shopping destination. I hope so anyway.

Yeah, in the summer it could be quite something, in the winter too with some outside heaters by the restaurants.

Something a bit normal there too - in London they do have a tendency to build these mini malls but none of the shops actually quite make sense - there is a knack to drawing people in, a mix of the mundane, the necessary, the comforting, the entertaining, the educational and the aspirational.

Other than pedestrianising Oxford street and putting loads of cafes there, what can be done to save it?

The American candy shops have to go (i feel theyre a front for money laundering anyway, personally)

Maybe rent controls? (Obvs the tories wont be doing that)

Sadiq could've used his tenure to bring in rent controls across Westminster, allowing stores to remain open there and stabilising rents

Why he hasn't done this, ive no idea.

The man should've went at the last election imo

I don’t think people go physical shopping nowadays. All city centres are fading

so spending &150m on Oxford St feels
like money down the drain to
me

He has done wonders for the pollution levels in London. As an asthmatic I can feel the difference in my lungs and I can smell the difference in my local area. So he can stay as long as he likes in my book.

As an asthmatic I dont feel any difference

For renters - they dont feel any difference from the Labour mayor either

I am sorry, I thought you were trolling. Hopefully people will be able to walk down Oxford street comfortably to look at the Christmas lights in future rather than being crammed on narrow pavements as they are now. I do have concerns about mobility having an issue with it myself but hope the buses can be routed to make things as easy as possible for those not using wheelchairs.

That’s good to hear
I’m not a Londoner but a visitor and defender have noticed how much better the air is.

I don’t get the argument against pedestrianisation. Buses can use parallel roads. People won’t have to breathe in fumes. It will just make it more pleasant

Oh its alright 🙂

Mobility should be at the top of the list of concerns whatever happensn

The government has literally just bought in a renter’s rights act to help deal with the problem of housing,including capping the increase of rents to yearly. Do keep up.

Fgs I cant keep up with you! I take back my smiley face from my last post! 😤😤

And the renters rights act doesnt cap rents. It stops increases from being more than once a year above market rate. More needs to be done as the rents are set too high to begin with

Anyway all the best to you

Yes, I know all that but it isn’t Kahn’s fault. I’m off to bed, not being a 24 hour party person.

I don’t agree with mayors being able to stay in for as long as they want. I think it should be capped at 3 terms.

the side roads around Oxford street are small. Regent street seems to be doing fine. The pavements are very wide on Oxford street as well and you can do the cafe culture etc in the big shops.

Given that the place is a tourist trap (I know no body who lives in London who shops there) and has 3 tube stations evenly spaced along it, I think (& not for the first time), the Westminster Tories are making a bloody stupid mistake.

Plus, given the traffic levels, no same person drives along it anyway. They go around it.

I live in London and only go to Oxford St for John Lewis - the rest is horrible, pedestrianisation may smarten it up. I prefer to take visitors to Covent Garden, Coal Drops Yard, Battersea Power Station - much nicer and lots of these areas are pedestrianised.

I think the Bond Street to Marble Arch is a bit better too. Maybe the answer is to give up on Oxford street! There are other nice shopping areas just as nice. Regent street is pretty good these days. Maybe Oxford street to bond street could focus on something else!

In the days of the open back routemasters in Oxford St, it was possible to jump off the one at the back of the traffic jam & run to the one at the front.

It’s probably been that long since I shopped in Oxford St though, as a PP said it’s not a place for Londoners any more.