Pedestrianisation won’t save Oxford Street | Letters

Oliver Schick argues there is a limit to how much commercial traffic Oxford Street can handle. Iain Nelson and Tom Hardy provide letters addressing the challenges facing the iconic London thoroughfare. High rents and the chaotic system of business rates are cited as the main contributors to Oxford Street's declining viability. Large flagship stores rely on surrounding smaller businesses to draw in customers.

The mayor of London's plans, which aim to stop traffic and benefit private landowners, are portrayed as a form of partial privatization. The reduction in bus services along Oxford Street may have played a larger role in its decline than initially thought. The decision to route Crossrail along Oxford Street, despite its questionable justification, has led to dangerously high footfall levels.

A strategic shift in the Crossrail route, connecting Heathrow and Stratford through southern London, was missed in favor of the current design. There is a natural ceiling to footfall beneficial for urban centers, and making it harder for those who prefer alternative transportation is unlikely to change this reality. The issues plaguing Oxford Street are not unique and cannot be solved by the mayor of London alone; central government intervention is needed.

Despite praising Sadiq Khan's Guardian contributions, Iain Nelson from Shropshire disagrees with the city's mayor's assertion that Oxford Street is "our nation’s high street." Tom Hardy from London offers a contrasting perspective, highlighting a 13.5% increase in footfall during the Extinction Rebellion blockade in April 2019, suggesting a greener and less polluted future could benefit the area.