Oxford Street to be fully pedestrianized

by   CIJ iDesk I
2017-12-22   11:00
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London Mayor Sadiq Khan’s plans to make Oxford Street into a pedestrian zone have come under fire by local businesses and residents who argue that the proposal will increase air pollution and traffic congestion on adjacent roads, writes the UK Evening Standard. The plan, which would coincide with the opening of the new Elizabeth underground line, calls for closing the west end of the busy thoroughfare between Oxford Street and Oxford Circus to all traffic starting next December, which critics say will flood neighboring Wigmore Street, Henrietta Place and Cavendish Square with cars, buses, delivery vehicles and as many as 500 additional taxis per hour. “Vans and lorries will have to use side roads, further clogging up the area that will be overrun by cars and taxis. The mayor is not a dictator but is behaving like one, trying to force this dreadful scheme through,” Better Oxford Street, an organization that companies in the area, said the majority of his members support the plan. “With 60 million new visits a year to the West End predicted once the Elizabeth line opens ... traffic has to be removed to accommodate this one-third increase in pedestrian numbers safely,” Tyrrell was quoted as saying by the Standard.