Oxford Street’s green renaissance

West End to build pedestrian ‘piazza’ closed to vehicles by end of this year

SHOPPERS, tourists and workers will be able to stroll across Oxford Circus without dodging the traffic for the first time under plans to create a pedestrian “piazza” in the heart of the West End.

A 150m-long section of Oxford Street on either side of Britain’s busiest pedestrian junction is set to be closed to vehicles by the end of the year, effectively cutting “London’s high street” in two.

Under the proposals revealed by Westminster council earlier, the stretch from John Prince’s Street to Great Portland Street will be shut to buses and taxis.

This will be turned into two pedestrian piazzas on either side of Oxford Circus, adding around 2,500 sq m of public space. A second phase of the programme next year will see trees planted and seating areas installed.

There will still be traffic along Regent Street but this will be “calmed” through longer green phases at pedestrian crossings and other measures.

There will also be new entrances to Oxford Circus Tube, which regularly has to be closed because of the weight of passengers trying to get in and out.

The roads at the 202-year-old intersection are notoriously difficult to cross, with up to 40,000 pedestrians an hour forced to wait for the green man signal at Oxford Street and Regent Street.

Oxford Circus was last redesigned in 2009 at a cost of £5 million when the distinctive diagonal format was created in an attempt to make it less intimidating to pedestrians.

However, today’s plans are more far-reaching. Buses and cabs will be rerouted through Marylebone and Fitzrovia along the parallel Margaret Street.

TfL hopes the impact on side routes will be limited as the number of buses passing down Oxford Street has been reduced in recent years.

Only two routes, the 98 and the 390, pass the entire length of Oxford Street via Oxford Circus.

An international design competition organised by the Royal Institute of British Architects will be held later in the summer, with the road closures scheduled to come into effect in November.

Westminster council leader Rachael Robathan said: “The serious congestion of Oxford Circus, of people and traffic, is unsustainable and demands action.

“We hope these pedestrian-only piazzas will not only improve safety and accessibility but also create an iconic destination at the heart of London.”

It is one of a series of measures, such as the “Marble Arch Mound” viewing platform being built at the western end of Oxford Street, in a £150 million programme designed to attract visitors back to the West End after Covid.