Pedestrianisation won’t save Oxford Street | Letters
Source: The Guardian ·
Oliver Schick writes that there is a limit to how much footfall is beneficial. Plus letters from Iain Nelson and Tom HardyThe real causes of the problems seen in Oxford Street (The long read, 22 October) are high rents, the chaotic system of business rates and the replacement of many smaller footprints with larger ones; these are the main factors that have made the street less viable. The large…
From the source
The real causes of the problems seen in Oxford Street (The long read, 22 October) are high rents, the chaotic system of business rates and the replacement of many smaller footprints with larger ones; these are the main factors that have made the street less viable. The large flagship shops depend on being surrounded by good-quality small businesses to attract customers. Much of what the mayor of London is doing here is a de facto part-privatisation – stopping up a very important public highway for a large number of users of “unwelcome” modes of transport, to benefit private landowners. Rather than buses being a main culprit here, it is much more likely that the gradual downgrading of bus services along Oxford Street has contributed significantly to its decline. The strategic mistake of routing Crossrail along Oxford Street – long after this plan lost its part-justification (dating from when it was conceived decades ago) of stimulating the West End – has caused the dangerously high…
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