Mayor of London Sir Sadiq Khan spoke to attendees of the ‘This is Oxford Street’ event on Sunday, where traffic was banned from accessing a stretch of the road ahead of pedestrianisation plans.
According to the Press Association, Khan described the shopping street as “wonderful” in the past, but “the reality is, it has been in decline for some time.”
“I’d call it managed decline. You’ve seen a situation where more people are shopping online or going to out-of-town centres, shopping centres, high-profile shops have left Oxford Street, and the pandemic was a real body blow to this street. Today is a glimpse of what the future could be like…a place where people can walk. It increases footfall. It increases spend, (it will be a) great place to shop, to do leisure, but also have outdoor events.
Khan also said that the day’s event would “go down in history as the day the fightback began to rescue this street.”
The mayor’s plans include a ban of vehicles, including buses, between Oxford Circus and Marble Arch, just under one mile of the street.
Plans for the proposals are expected to be consulted later this year.
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