‘It’s magical’: London’s iconic Oxford Street goes vehicle-free

London, United Kingdom – “It’s magical,” says biology teacher Muneera Alfadhel from nether her umbrella.

In fact, it is simply a characteristically rainy, grey time successful London, but the upwind is doing thing to dampen her mood. She is among the archetypal to locomotion down the mediate of the iconic Oxford Street pursuing its pedestrianisation.

For generations, shoppers person bustled on Oxford Street adjacent to bikes, cars, achromatic cabs and reddish double-decker buses. But connected Monday, from Great Portland Street to Orchard Street, the roadworthy is present a pedestrian-only zone.

On Monday morning, by unit of habit, astir pedestrians are inactive sticking to the pavement. Mark Arbouine, a forensic idiosyncratic retired for a stroll, is 1 of the fewer breaking ranks: “I saw determination was nary postulation today, truthful I thought, wherefore not locomotion successful the mediate of the thoroughfare and instrumentality vantage of it? I conscionable deliberation it’s large for the environment, large for shopping. It’s conscionable truthful overmuch easier to determination astir the street.”

This tiny portion of existent property is large business: astir 1 percent of the UK’s yearly gross home merchandise (GDP) is generated on this 1km (0.6 miles) agelong of street. But contempt its outsized importance, Oxford Street has successful caller decades been deed by little user spending, arsenic good arsenic falling rents and footfall, which is present conscionable 57 percent of what it was successful 2006, according to New West End Company, a retail commercialized body.

The Greater London Authority, besides known arsenic City Hall, believes pedestrianisation could, therefore, connection a lifeline.

City Hall investigation suggests the partial pedestrianisation of Oxford Street could make much than $109m per twelvemonth and enactment an further 700 jobs. Following a play proceedings successful October 2025, two-thirds of businesses successful the country said they had higher oregon akin income figures during the pedestrianisation.

This is the archetypal measurement successful a multi-phase regeneration task to adhd 2 nationalist squares, 50 trees and hundreds of nationalist seating.

Barbara Stoll, a starring campaigner connected the benefits of greener, much walkable cities, was smiling arsenic she observed the street. The aerial already feels cleaner, she noted.

“It’s astonishing coming present this morning. Walking down the street, it was already truthful uplifting that the sound is considerably lower,” she said. “People are excited. I saw radical coming up from the conduit and looking around. Seeing that, it’s astir similar children erstwhile it’s Christmas Day.

“So I deliberation it’s perfectly wonderful, and truthful needed for London.”

Residents ‘haven’t truly been listened to’

On Saturday, up of the change, not each shoppers were convinced. A French tourer said helium would debar Oxford Street altogether if buses and cabs were nary longer allowed through.

“People with disabilities who cannot locomotion a batch – that would beryllium truly adjuvant if the buses determination connected and they don’t discontinue [them],” a shopper told Al Jazeera.

“It would beryllium good. Sometimes you’re tired; sometimes it’s raining.”

The pedestrianisation of Oxford Street has been years successful the making, and not without controversy.

London Mayor Sadiq Khan archetypal tried it successful 2017, pursuing a manifesto pledge. But the program fell isolated successful 2018, erstwhile Westminster Council – the section authorities authorization liable for Oxford Street astatine the clip – withdrew its backing, saying residents did not enactment it.

Following a nationalist consultation, Khan created the Oxford Street Development Corporation, taking work for the thoroughfare distant from section officials and transferring it to the Greater London Authority and Transport for London.

With this second, palmy effort astatine pedestrianisation, doubts from section authorities person not gone away.

Residents are not being listened to, said Councillor Tim Barnes, the lawman person and furniture subordinate for maturation and readying for the City of Westminster.

“There has been a connection process with residents, but it’s been beauteous overmuch 1 way. Mostly, they are being told what’s going to hap to them and however it’s going to happen; what the format of the process is going to beryllium successful future. But realistically, those who cognize the thoroughfare champion haven’t truly been listened to.”

He believes the economical benefits are overstated and bash not see the interaction of displacing autobus routes from a large roadworthy to the surrounding, smaller streets. That fearfulness is shared by nonmigratory Nerma Cridge, who said London’s West End volition go “completely unliveable, excessively crowded and excessively noisy astatine night”.

“We deliberation each of this should beryllium done successful a overmuch much productive narration with communities,” she told Al Jazeera implicit the phone.

‘People conscionable instrumentality backmost the space’

Concerns implicit the alteration volition slice erstwhile residents spot the real-world results successful the coming months, Stoll believes.

“Examples from crossed Europe and the world, wherever specified projects person already happened, beryllium that this lone makes beingness amended wide for section residents,” she said.

“Retail gets a boost. More radical linger, much radical travel to the street, much radical walk wealth successful the shops, and adjacent section store vacancies reduce. The section aerial contamination importantly reduces, and arsenic enactment increases, radical conscionable instrumentality backmost the space.”

The Oxford Street Development Corporation volition beryllium investigating and reviewing the results of the pedestrianisation successful the coming months, and reviewing its findings aboriginal adjacent year. Transitioning the remainder of Oxford Street into a permanent, traffic-free nationalist abstraction is expected to spell up by the extremity of adjacent year.

Ahead of mayoral elections successful 2028, the pedestrianisation could beryllium 1 of the past large initiatives that Sadiq Khan signs off. A landmark task that volition besides go his legacy.