Photos reveal walkable Oxford Street as first phase of pedestrianisation begins

Almost a kilometre of Oxford Street in central London has been permanently closed off to vehicle traffic as pedestrianisation of the major shopping street and thoroughfare began yesterday.

Nearly a kilometre of the two-kilometre-long street – the stretch between Orchard Street and Great Portland Street – is now fully pedestrianised.

Traffic, including cars, buses, taxis and private hire vehicles, cycles, scooters and pedicabs, will not be allowed on this part of Oxford Street and will instead be routed via side streets.

Photographs from the unveiling yesterday show the road decorated with a large sign reading “Oxford St” and green bollards keeping out traffic.

The design for the pedestrianisation was made by local architecture studio East, which is working with landscape architecture studio JL Gibbons and urban design studios Gehl and Publica on the project.

Meanwhile, architecture studio HawkinsBrown has been developing a long-term vision for the entirety of the street, which stretches from Tottenham Court Road to Marble Arch.

This first pedestrianised section is now undergoing a transition period, during which the East team will add new signage, seating and planters to make the area more visitor-friendly. The full transformation is expected to begin in 2027 and be completed by 2028.

“As we have seen from Borough High Street to Eltham, from Croydon to Green Lanes, London’s high streets are the public face of the city in all its diversity, its greenery and its energy,” East director Julian Lewis said.

“We design to preserve and support this energy, maintaining the ebbs and flows of these places which make our neighbourhoods unique.”

The transformed section of Oxford Street will feature two new squares, one close to Holles Street and the other close to Duke Street. These will be marked with a new surface dressing that will make the ground level across the carriageway.

Trees will also be added in “sculptural pots”, East said, before being planted into the ground for the permanent scheme.

London mayor Sadiq Khan had originally announced plans to make Oxford Street traffic-free almost a decade ago, in 2017, but they were blocked by Westminster Council.

East revealed updated renders of its vision for the final scheme earlier this month.