No, we are maintaining two-way traffic.
This scheme proposes the below changes to Oxford Street between Marble Arch and Tottenham Court Road:
The width of the street – both the carriageway and the footway – varies along the distance from Marble Arch to Tottenham Court Road. The new design for the street proposes removing medians, islands and bus laybys, creating a consistent 6.5m width for the carriageway, and allowing two-way traffic along the entirety of Oxford Street. With a consistent carriageway width, more space – up to 76% of the street at places – is given over to pedestrians for a more comfortable footway and public space.
The narrowed width of the carriageway permits pedestrian crossings to be reduced in length. This, partnered with wider crossings, raised junctions and crossings level with the footways, as well as enhanced pedestrian signal controls, will improve safety and accessibility.
The proposal includes 16 designated amenity spaces along Oxford Street. These spaces will provide gathering and resting spaces supplemented by seating and greening to create an oasis for rest and play. Each amenity space is tailored to the surrounding land use and available space.
The scheme proposes converting the following streets to cul-de-sacs to create additional pedestrian and amenity spaces along Oxford Street:
Traffic lanes on Oxford Street will be cycle friendly with advanced stop lines at all junctions where possible.
The scheme proposes new cycling infrastructure to create north/south routes across Oxford Street. This infrastructure provided on James Street / Gilbert Street, Holles Street / Harewood Place, Regent Street, Berners Street, Newman Street / Great Chapel Street, and Rathbone Place / Soho Street will link cyclists to the larger network of cycle routes. Westminster City Council Highways team is working to develop a high-quality parallel east-west cycle route between Marylebone and the West End. Plans for the network are being developed to compliment proposals in the area and are expected to be published for consultation later this year.
Over the past few years, the number of bus routes on Oxford Street has reduced from 13 routes in 2017 to 5 routes between Orchard St and Oxford Circus and 4 routes between Oxford Circus and Tottenham Court Road currently. Therefore, the programme proposes removing underutilised bus stops and consolidating east-west bus operation to single legible stops at each location along the street. Furthermore, the bus stop laybys will be removed to improve bus priority and increase passenger waiting space.
To support interchange between bus and underground, a bus stop in each direction will be added near Bond Street Station.
The bus network will be simplified through changes to the turnaround loops for routes 7, 12, 22, 55, 73 and 159.
To learn more about changes to bus operations, please refer to the maps here.
To relieve congestion and better serve Oxford Street and its visitors, daytime taxi ranks will be placed immediately off Oxford Street on side roads. To better serve the night-time economy, night-time only ranks will be provided on Oxford Street. Taxi ranks will be dispersed along the street and clearly signposted on and off Oxford Street. The proposed scheme includes a net gain of taxi bays on or adjacent to Oxford Street from Marble Arch to Tottenham Court Road.
Oxford Street between Orchard Street and Tottenham Court Road will be a restricted parking zone. This means the area will restrict parking and loading, except in signed bays, and allows for the yellow road markings to be removed. The RPZ will improve the public realm of Oxford Street. Providing permanent road markings on new high quality natural stone would detract from our aspirations.
Loading will only be permitted at specific times of day in signed bays along the street to limit disruption to pedestrians.
To learn more about parking and loading changes, please see the proposed changes here.
Please send questions, concerns or request translation services to the Oxford Street Programme Team at oxfordst@westminster.gov.uk
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No, we are maintaining two-way traffic.
Pedestrian circulation will be made easier and more accessible with the following changes:
The loading provision on Oxford Street will be increased significantly with the addition of timed loading bays at footway level (known as “loading pads”). These loading pads will be operational overnight and in the mornings only and will be usable as pavement space when footfall increases in the afternoon and into the early evening. This increase in loading space on Oxford Street will help to relieve pressures on side and side streets and allow businesses to operate more efficiently and with less impact on surrounding neighbourhoods
Please see a map of vehicle restrictions on Oxford Street Here
The scheme proposes new cycling infrastructure to create north/south routes across Oxford Street. This infrastructure provided on James Street / Gilbert Street, Holles Street / Harewood Place, Regent Street, Berners Street, Newman Street / Great Chapel Street, and Rathbone Place / Soho Street will link cyclist to the larger network of cycle routes. This network is being developed under a separate Westminster City Council project.
The exact number of cycle parking stands along or near Oxford Street is still undetermined. However, it is anticipated to be no net loss in cycle parking and or impact the Santander Cycle Hire.
Advanced Stop Lines (ASLs) are designed to help cyclists pull away in front of traffic and are marked beyond the stop line for general traffic. ASLs are sometimes called a ‘bike box’ or a ‘cycle reservoir’.
A stage in the traffic signal timings where all the traffic stops and pedestrian crossings run at the same time.
The small number of buses that currently turn at Oxford Circus will be accommodated on alternative alignments. This change will provide more operational efficiency, reduce distances travelled, reduce journey times and conflict with other road users. The programme will reduce the bus mileage on the streets adjacent to Oxford Circus providing benefit to local streets as well as Regent Street and Oxford Street.
Bus stops will be more evenly spaced across the street and a new pair of east and westbound bus stops will be added near to Bond Street Underground Station (between Stratford Place and New Bond Street).
Bus stop lay-bys on Oxford Street will be removed allowing buses to stop in-line with other vehicles and permitting wider footways, increased passenger waiting areas and greater safety for pedestrian crossing movements. This proposal is not expected to lead to increased congestion or queuing as the number of bus services and other traffic is now low on Oxford Street. As traffic flows are higher east of Orchard Street, traffic will be able to pass stopped buses.
Learn more about the bus operation changes here.
There are no existing or proposed disabled parking bays on Oxford Street. There are proposed additional disabled parking bays included in the overall scheme.
A Restricted Parking Zone, or ‘RPZ’ is an area where parking and loading restrictions apply to vehicles, without the need for lines to be painted on the road surface. Vehicles should only park and load in the appropriate signed bays when the sign allows.
It is proposed that additional motorcycle parking bays will be added to the Oxford Street area. This will be finalised as the design progresses.
July & August 2023 - Public Consultation (complete)
Autumn 2023 review
Summer 2024 Traffic Management Order consultation
Autumn 2024 Subject to Public Consultation and Cabinet Member approval construction work begins.