What could a pedestrianised Oxford Street look like?

By Tom Lowe2026-05-19T06:00:00

For well over half a century there have been proposals to reduce traffic on Europe’s busiest street and transform it into a more pedestrian-friendly area. Tom Lowe meets the team finally taking those plans towards fruition

A few years ago, I was wandering through central Vienna and found myself walking down a wide, tree-lined shopping street. Familiar brands lined either side – H&M, Intersport, Starbucks – but, despite the sunny spring afternoon, it was quiet. Or, at least, it felt quiet.

It was smartly paved along its length, with two wide pavements on either side flanking a narrow, kerb-less road. Occasionally, a car would crawl by politely.

After some Googling, I realised that this leafy street was the Mariahilfer Strasse, the Austrian capital’s main commercial thoroughfare. As a visitor from London, this came as a bit of a shock.

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