City Hall Liberal Democrats have today called for the full pedestrianisation of Oxford Street.
Liberal Democrat London Assembly Member Caroline Pidgeon during her questions to the Mayor highlighted that Sadiq Khan had previously committed to the pedestrianisation of London’s flagship shopping street during his 2016 manifesto. London Liberal Democrats have supported pedestrianising London’s flagship high street since 2004.
A previous stumbling block to the plans had been the Conservative-run Westminster Council withdrawing from plans in 2018. However, in 2022 control of the Council changed to Labour.
During the questioning, Sadiq Khan stated Oxford Street is “not what it used to be” and indicated that he agreed with Caroline Pidgeon that the street should move towards full pedestrianisation.
Research from Living Streets shows that pedestrianisation can boost footfall and sales in high street businesses by up to 30 per cent. Pidgeon also highlighted how the pedestrianisation of Carnaby Street in Soho in 1973 directly resulted in a 30 per cent rise in pedestrians.
Westminster Council has published new plans for Oxford Street which involves 12 additional control pedestrian crossings and improving 45 existing crossing points meaning there are a total of 57 crossing points planned, with Pidgeon arguing this only further proves that the Council should go all the way with full pedestrianisation.
Pidgeon also called on the Mayor to introduce a fund to assist councils with pedestrianisation of local high streets in his next budget, something which Khan refused to commit to.
Commenting Caroline Pidgeon AM said:
“The way we shop and access services has changed dramatically over the last decade. We are now faced with a choice, to allow our high streets to adapt to changing societal patterns, or allow large swathes of public space to continue to decline.
“If our high streets are to survive then going shopping needs to be about more than just the stores and about being a pleasant leisure activity. We’ve seen just what a positive experience pedestrianisation of high streets can bring in Carnaby Street and the Strand and in major cities in Europe.
“While I welcome the Mayor supporting calls for the pedestrianisation of Oxford Street, I would love to see him go further with a fund to support councils with pedestrianising High Streets across London helping to boost local economies and contribute to greener, safer and more community-focused environments.”
