‘It’s magical’: London’s iconic Oxford Street goes vehicle-free

London, United Kingdom – “It’s magical,” says biology teacher Muneera Alfadhel from under her umbrella.

In fact, it is a characteristically rainy, grey day in London, but the weather is doing nothing to dampen her mood. She is among the first to walk down the middle of the iconic Oxford Street following its pedestrianisation.

For generations, shoppers have bustled along Oxford Street next to bikes, cars, black cabs and red double-decker buses. But on Monday, from Great Portland Street to Orchard Street, the road is now a pedestrian-only zone.

On Monday morning, by force of habit, most pedestrians are still sticking to the pavement. Mark Arbouine, a forensic scientist out for a stroll, is one of the few breaking ranks: “I saw there was no traffic today, so I thought, why not walk in the middle of the street and take advantage of it? I just think it’s great for the environment, great for shopping. It’s just so much easier to move around the street.”

This tiny strip of real estate is big business: about 1 percent of the UK’s annual gross domestic product (GDP) is generated along this 1km (0.6 miles) stretch of street. But despite its outsized importance, Oxford Street has in recent decades been hit by lower consumer spending, as well as falling rents and footfall, which is now just 57 percent of what it was in 2006, according to New West End Company, a retail trade body.

The Greater London Authority, also known as City Hall, believes pedestrianisation could, therefore, offer a lifeline.

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City Hall analysis suggests the partial pedestrianisation of Oxford Street could generate more than $109m per year and support an additional 700 jobs. Following a weekend trial in October 2025, two-thirds of businesses in the area said they had higher or similar sales figures during the pedestrianisation.

This is the first step in a multi-phase regeneration project to add two public squares, 50 trees and hundreds of public seating.

Barbara Stoll, a leading campaigner on the benefits of greener, more walkable cities, was smiling as she observed the street. The air already feels cleaner, she noted.

“It’s amazing coming here this morning. Walking down the street, it was already so uplifting that the noise is considerably lower,” she said. “People are excited. I saw people coming up from the tube and looking around. Seeing that, it’s almost like children when it’s Christmas Day.

“So I think it’s absolutely wonderful, and so needed for London.”

Residents ‘haven’t really been listened to’

On Saturday, ahead of the change, not all shoppers were convinced. A French tourist said he would avoid Oxford Street altogether if buses and cabs were no longer allowed through.

“People with disabilities who cannot walk a lot – that would be really helpful if the buses move on and they don’t discontinue [them],” a shopper told Al Jazeera.

“It would be good. Sometimes you’re tired; sometimes it’s raining.”

The pedestrianisation of Oxford Street has been years in the making, and not without controversy.

London Mayor Sadiq Khan first tried it in 2017, following a manifesto pledge. But the plan fell apart in 2018, when Westminster Council – the local government authority responsible for Oxford Street at the time – withdrew its backing, saying residents did not support it.

Following a public consultation, Khan created the Oxford Street Development Corporation, taking responsibility for the street away from local officials and transferring it to the Greater London Authority and Transport for London.

With this second, successful attempt at pedestrianisation, doubts from local authorities have not gone away.

Residents are not being listened to, said Councillor Tim Barnes, the deputy leader and cabinet member for growth and planning for the City of Westminster.

“There has been a communication process with residents, but it’s been pretty much one way. Mostly, they are being told what’s going to happen to them and how it’s going to happen; what the format of the process is going to be in future. But realistically, those who know the street best haven’t really been listened to.”

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He believes the economic benefits are overstated and do not consider the impact of displacing bus routes from a major road to the surrounding, smaller streets. That fear is shared by resident Nerma Cridge, who said London’s West End will become “completely unliveable, too crowded and too noisy at night”.

“We think all of this should be done in a much more productive relationship with communities,” she told Al Jazeera over the phone.

‘People just take back the space’

Concerns over the change will fade once residents see the real-world results in the coming months, Stoll believes.

“Examples from across Europe and the world, where such projects have already happened, prove that this only makes life better overall for local residents,” she said.

“Retail gets a boost. More people linger, more people come to the street, more people spend money in the shops, and even local shop vacancies reduce. The local air pollution significantly reduces, and as activity increases, people just take back the space.”

The Oxford Street Development Corporation will be testing and reviewing the results of the pedestrianisation in the coming months, and reviewing its findings early next year. Transitioning the rest of Oxford Street into a permanent, traffic-free public space is expected to go ahead by the end of next year.

Ahead of mayoral elections in 2028, the pedestrianisation could be one of the last major initiatives that Sadiq Khan signs off. A landmark project that will also become his legacy.