The future could see buses and taxis diverted

• LAURENCE Eyton is of course entitled to his opinion on the future of Oxford Street (We don’t want the traffic, July 30), but nothing is going to be achieved by personalising the debate.

I live in Westminster, was born in St Mary’s Hospital and have lived and worked in the borough for most of my life.

That doesn’t mean my viewpoint is any more important than anybody else’s but it does mean that I do understand and appreciate the issues that confront us.

Oxford Street and the West End generally is a huge economic powerhouse in the London and UK economy supporting thousands of businesses and millions of jobs.

Long before the pandemic Oxford Street was suffering from a change in shopping habits due to online activity and the attractiveness of centres such as Westfield.

To walk along the street now is a really depressing experience with dozens of empty shops.

So the status quo is just not an acceptable option and Westminster Council is to be applauded in at least attempting to arrest this long-term decline.

The issue of traffic in the West End is fundamental to dealing with its future.

For too long we have allowed free access to motor vehicles to rat run through our streets with the resultant heavy pollution and an appalling level of collisions.

The piazzas to be created at Oxford Circus will at least create a pleasant and safe area for pedestrians rather than the congested and dangerous nightmare which is the current experience.

The buses and taxis which will be diverted around the Circus are going nowhere near residential areas.

But this is just a start and a long-term solution needs to be found so that we can all work together for a better West End.

We haven’t even talked enough about climate change and air pollution which threaten our very existence. So somehow as a society we must find common ground to deal with the traffic issue.

We need to keep traffic out of the West End and the most important priority for the city council is now to address this problem.

PETER HARTLEY
Chair, Westminster Living Streets