Survey finds support for pedestrianising Oxford Street, but resistance grows in outer areas
There is strong support for the recently announced plans to pedestrianise Oxford Street and for similar schemes across London in general, but only if they happen elsewhere, according to a YouGov survey.
The new YouGov survey found that 63% of Londoners support pedestrianising Oxford Street, including 33% who “strongly” support doing so. The rest of the respondents, 23% didn’t support the plans, and 11% were strongly opposed.
A drill down unsurprisingly showed greater support for pedestrianising Oxford Street from people who had been there recently against those who hadn’t. While that suggests strong support for pedestrianising Oxford Street, it’s based on a general principle rather than the specifics of what the plans would entail, as the plans are not yet known.
That’s partly because Westminster Council was already working on improving Oxford Street when the Mayor of London unexpectedly stepped in with his own scheme.
Earlier today, Westminster Council also updated their Oxford Street improvements website to remove the old details and replace them with a holding notice that reads: “Due to the announcement from the Mayor of London, the Oxford Street Programme is currently suspended.”
Away from Oxford Street, the YouGov survey found that support for pedestrianising local high streets across London was strong but noticeably weaker than for central London and grew weaker as you got further away.
It was also weaker when people were asked about their local area as opposed to somewhere else, which suggests that people consider such proposals good for the wider society but inconvenient for them personally.
There was also less support for and more opposition to pedestrianisation as you get further away from the centre of London, which is not that surprising as there’s less public transport and lower population densities means people have to travel further, often by car, to the shopping areas.
The obvious conclusion is that lots of people like the idea of pedestrianising Oxford Street, but mainly because they don’t live near it.
The full results are here.
Oxford Street stretches from Marble Arch to Tottenham Court Road. It’s very convenient for some visitors to travel from one end of Oxford Street towards the other, or somewhere along, via bus (quick, cheap, or even free for those with 60+/Freedom Pass etc.). I wonder how they might be affected.
It’s better than it used to be, but travelling by bus along Oxford Street has never been quick, at least not during the day. Walking is normally faster!
It’s a terrible Idea. Not good at all for people who aren’t able to walk the lengths of Oxford st.
In the exceptionally unlikley chance that some one would want to go shops at either end of the street – there’s the tube, taxis and buses on side roads and it’s not as if they can drive along it and park in front of shops at the moment anyway.
Ian, you’ll never get anywhere with reason and facts.
It’s intriguing how these comments always seem to be expressing issues on behalf of “people who” rather than relating any first hand concerns.
The fantasy vision being painted of Oxford Street as a free flowing traffic utopia where friendly crowds shield each other from phone snatchers, little old ladies hop on and off buses, and wheelchair users are happily deposited outside Primark by taxis, can only come from folk who haven’t been there for a very long time, if ever.
Buses along Oxford Street are painfully slow – not convenient in the slightest. Rerouting them along Wigmore Street would shave a lot of time off the journey.
Would it? Wouldn’t they just become painfully slow along Wigmore Street instead?
Can they do regent street as well?
I know the traffic has to go somewhere, so you can’t close every street. But there has got to be a strong argument for the 3 major London shopping streets of Oxford st, Regent st, and Bond st.