On Sat, 28 Apr 2007, Neil Williams wrote:

I couldn't help but notice that it was far more pleasant - less crowded
and pretty much unpolluted - compared with its usual bus- and
taxi-filled anarchy. I would as such consider that there is a serious
case for pedestrianisation, with buses serving passengers either on all
the crossing streets or perhaps on a specially-built bus station or
similar somewhere around the middle. There are plenty of parallel
streets that can take the through traffic.

What are peoples' thoughts on this?

I'm in complete agreement. I remember much of Oxford St being closed for
roadworks one night a while ago, and i cycled along it (the odd row of
cones not being much of an impediment to a bike) - it was wonderful.

The pedestrianisation of Oxford Street has been much discussed; the main
idea seems to be to split bus routes using it in two (terminating at new
bus stations at Marble Arch and St Giles's Circus, i suppose), rather than
rerouting them. The tram also features heavily in this - it's the only
practical way of moving people rapidly along the street, and shuttling
people between the bus stations, given the pedestrianisation.

I do wonder if there's room undeneath the roadway for either a huge long
road underpass, or a very shallow subsurface tram or underground line. The
Central line is presumably rather deeper, and although there will be pipes
and cables and things, dealing with these is a matter of detail
(admittedly a very expensive one) rather than a showstopper.

The other thing that needs be done is sinking the Marble Arch gyratory, so
there's continuous pedestrian access between Hyde Park, the arch, and
Oxford Street. Again, perhaps possible, but exorbitantly expensive.

tom

--
People don't want nice. People want London. -- Al