3 ms·
The large amount of traffic going through it has to go somewhere. On top of that, given the huge number of pedestrians on Oxford street I’d bet that with restau
by basisword 5y ago
The large amount of traffic going through it has to go somewhere. On top of that, given the huge number of pedestrians on Oxford street I’d bet that with restaurants spilling out it would just become an even more awful place to walk through. Any of then streets that I saw pedestrianised during covid actually became worse. Between tables, cyclists, and crowds congregating getting through them became more difficult.
- dkdbejwi383 5y agoInduced demand is a thing, make driving less convenient, and more people will take the tube/crossrail/bus. There are plenty of examples of successful pedestrianised shopping streets, e.g. Stroget in Copenhagen, Buchanan St closer to home in Glasgow, La Rambla in Barcelona. Doing some rough measurements in Google Maps, Oxford St is roughly the same width (if not slightly wider based on the samples I measured) than La Rambla. And our weather is marginally better than Cophenhagen and Glasgow, so one can't attribute success only to nice weather.
- Symbiote 5y agoIt's up to the local council to allow (or not) outdoor seating for restaurants. Likewise for allowing (or not) cycling. Plenty of cities have pedestrianised streets with a similar width to Oxford Street, and I find them very pleasant.
- thorin 5y agoI lived in London pre congestion charge and learnt to drive there (I'd passed my test, but that's where I did most of the real learning). It would appear that the congestion charge didn't reduce congestion at all and was only a tax on tourists and the unaware?