I remember walking down Oxford Street as a kid and the pollution from all the vehicles stuck in traffic there was choking. I know they’ve worked on pollution measures since but I’m sure people still avoid it because of that.
Seems like a good idea. It’s not like any cars or busses actually drive there, being all stuck in congestion anyway.
That’s a bit like saying you can find cheaper rollercoasters outside Disney Land.
It’s true, but price isn’t why people go. It’s prestige and experience.
Good idea, keep businesses out of the area
They’ll never compete against online shopping prices or convenience. Making it harder to traverse isn’t going to fix that. But it will make it a nicer day out for tourists.
Who drives down Oxford Street? I think I’ve done it once in 20 years. Other roads are available.
I know, but I’m a rebel! I don’t just break the rules, I make the rules! Which I then break, which is somewhat counterproductive but that’s rebels for you.
~Also, I suspect it was at least 15 years ago when I last drove down it!~
Making it harder to traverse
Have you ever actually walked down oxford street?
The pavements are normally crammed, and there are 3 million cars a minute fighting for the road space.
Adding 5x as much space for pedestrians is a fantastic idea.
It’ll be a tiny, tiny minority of people not visiting OS because they can’t park/taxi/bus to the shop front, and a huge number of people going there because it’s a nice experience with no traffic.
Have you ever actually walked down oxford street?
Sorry, I weren’t looking through my ableist lens properly.
So you think that adding more space for wheelchairs is a bad thing?
Gotcha.
You are right that they can’t compete directly with online shopping, but that’s not why people go there. Studies have consistently shown that closing shopping areas to through-traffic is good for businesses, precisely because it makes them easier, not harder, to access. Shops don’t benefit in any way from hundreds of cars (or, in this case, buses and taxis) driving past them!
EDIT: Thought I should link to a specific study rather than just vaguely waving at them. There are many to choose from but this one is particularly interesting because it’s from the US, where they generally don’t have good cycling and public transport infrastructure, but it still shows benefits for businesses:
While we observed some mixed results, we generally found that street improvements have either positive impacts on corridor economic and business performance or non-significant impacts.
It’s important to note that nothing always works everywhere (‘some mixed results’, here), but the balance of evidence is in favour of at least trialling traffic reduction schemes in commercial districts.
i have never understood this, online shopping is hilariously much more expensive and inconvenient than just popping down to the shops
also removing cars almost always makes it easier to get around, not sure why you’d think it would make things harder?
The price conscious aren’t going to Oxford street, did you even read the article?
