Oxford Street stores call on Mayor to water down his plans for traffic ban

a consultation on the future of Oxford Street conducted by Transport for London and Westminster City Council.

The response also says any ban on east-west traffic should be confined to the 10am to 10pm opening hours of most shops and lifted at night to allow deliveries and “deter anti-social activity”. It puts the powerful lobby group on a potential collision course with Sadiq Khan, who is thought to favour a full traffic ban along Oxford Street by 2025 to ease pollution.

Valerie Shawcross, London’s deputy mayor for transport, told the London Assembly last year that the work would be in two stages. The first would pedestrianise the street from Oxford Circus to Tottenham Court Road, the second would remove vehicles from between Oxford Circus and Selfridges.

But the New West End Company said the “nuclear option”, of a full 24-hour traffic-free zone from Marble Arch to Tottenham Court Road, could create havoc as traffic is diverted into residential streets. Instead it favours daytime traffic-free “blocks” between major intersections to still let vehicles cross from Soho to Fitzrovia and Mayfair to Marylebone. It also suggests the elderly, disabled and parents with buggies would still need some form of surface transport in the absence of buses.

About 500,000 people visit Oxford Street each day, but this is expected to increase dramatically after the Elizabeth line opens at the end of next year.

A spokesman for Mr Khan said his election manifesto “made clear his desire to see Oxford Street pedestrianised”, and his plans will be outlined in more detail after the consultation. @JonPrynn