Walking Along Oxford Street
I took these pictures this morning, as I walked along Oxford Street from Marble Arch to Tottenham Court Road.
Note.
- I was surprised at the number of trees.
- The large number of buses.
- The rather small numberr of private cars.
- The large amount of new development to the East of Oxford Circus.
I might have got a different set of pictures later in the day.
Oxford Street Could Be Pedestrianised By Next Christmas
The title of this post is the same as the sub-title of this article in the Independent.
The aim is to pedestrianise Oxford Street from Oxford Street to Orchard Street by December 2018, which is the date when the Elizabeth Line will open.
It is an ambitious plan and despite substantial backing from the Mayor, Westminster City Council, the West End Company and groups like the British Heart Foundation, I don’t think it will be plain sailing.
Walking Along Oxford Street
In Walking Along Oxford Street, I show various pictures I took this morning whilst walking between Marble Arch and Tottenham Court Road stations.
Oxford Street looked to have improved, since I last did this. But then it’s a long time since I’ve walked the streets without crowds.
My views are as follows.
Measuring Success Or Failure
The success or failure of the pedestrianisation of Oxford Street is very easy to gauge.
The rate of change of turnover is a direct measure.
The Buses
I regularly go shopping in Oxford Street and often used a bus to travel there and back.
I used to be able to get a 73 bus from either 200 metres from my house or by changing at the Angel. But since the 73 has been cut back to Oxford Circus, I’ve tended to use the Underground, often by taking a bus to Bank for the Central Line.
Under Sadiq Khan’s plan all buses will be removed from Oxford Street and only the 139 and the 390 will remain, being rerouted along Wigmore Street.
A lot of people who go to Oxford Street regularly by bus, will lose their direct bus route. How will they react?
Will they use the Underground or the Elizabeth Line or will they go shopping elsewhere?
Since the 73 has been cut back, I think I’ve also gone to Oxford Street a lot less.
Why? I’ve no idea.
But it could be, that regularly, I’d buy something in John Lewis,Selfridges or perhaps in Bond Street and get straight on a 73 bus to the Angel, where I just got off the bus and waited until a bus home arrived at the same stop. As the 73 buses are New Routemasters, they’re a real shoppers’ bus and a lot easier than the Underground.
The Underground And Crossrail
Oxford Street will have the following stations and entrances as you proceed from East to West.
- Holborn – Central and Piccadilly
- Tottenham Court Road (Current Entrance) – Central, Elizabeth and Northern
- Tottenham Court Road (Dean Street Entrance) – Central and Elizabeth
- Oxford Circus – Bakerloo, Central and Victoria
- Bond Street – Central, Elizabeth and Jubilee
- Marble Arch – Central
Between Oxford Circus and Orchard Street, which will be the first section to be pedestrianised, you’ll never be more than two hundred metres from a fully step-free Elizabeth Line station.
Will this be enough to do away with the buses on Oxford Street?
Holborn station is being expanded with a new entrance, so will Oxford Circus and Marble Arch be upgraded?
Cycling
This will be banned. Although the plan envisages alternative cycle routes to the North and South.
Taxis
These will be banned from Oxford Street. Taxi ranks will be provided.
Will this be acceptable to the taxi drivers?
Uber And Mini-Cabs
These will be banned from Oxford Street.
How will these effect the surrounding streets?
Deliveries
How will these be arranged? You can’t get behind all the shops!
The Stalls
There are lots of stalls selling various goods along Oxford Street.
Will the stallholders give up their pitches quietly, if necessary?
Security
I’m no security expert, but after the latest attacks in the UK and Europe, surely keeping out vehicles must remove the weapon of choice from a large group of terrorists.
Local Residents
There are quite a few residents in the area perhaps two hundred metres on either side of Oxford Street.
They could be the biggest losers with traffic cramming the side streets.
Timing
Crossrail opens in December 2018. Does this mean the 1st, 31st or some day in between?
How do you time the pedestrianisation of Oxford Street to fit in with Crossrail?
Especially, as December 2018 will probably contain Christmas!
Conclusion
There is going to be a lot of discussion about this scheme.
As to my view, I like pedestrianised streets and Oxford Street should have gone this way years ago.
Throwing The Baby Out With The Bathwater
I like the New Routemaster and I use them regularly as five of the routes running close to my house use the buses.
So when I saw that Wright SRM buses, which are based on the New Routemaster, were being trialled on Route 183, I had to take a ride.
I went between Golders Green and Kenton stations.
In my view the bus has three major design faults compared to the New Routemaster.
The Floor Is No Longer Flat
The New Routemaster has a completely flat floor, whereas this bus doesn’t.
I suspect that this is because the bus is based on a standard Volvo B5LH chassis to save money, whereas the New Routemaster used a custom design.
Front Entry Only
One of the great features of the New Routemaster is that you can get in at any door, as there are card readers on all doors.
Drivers take advantage of this and often seem to stop the bus, so passengers can board quickly.
This must mean that they keep to the timetable better!
The Bus Is Rather Gloomy Inside
I sat towards the back, as I often do on New Routemasters, but the bus is so gloomy, as there is no windows facing to the rear.
Conclusion
I very much feel that someone needs to design a better bus chassis, as the standard Volvo chassis means that a flat floor and a light and airy interior, which are so important in my view, seem to be impossible.
Wrightbus can do a lot better.
Four Trains Per Hour Between Dalston Junction And Battersea Park Stations
Normally, there is only one train per day in both directions between Dalston Junction and Battersea Park stations.
Wikipedia says this about the service.
Until December 2012, Southern operated a twice-hourly service from London Victoria to London Bridge via Denmark Hill. This ceased when London Overground’s Clapham Junction to Dalston Junction service commenced at that time. However, since December 2012, a skeleton London Overground service has run to/from Battersea Park (instead of Clapham Junction) at the extreme ends of the day to retain a “parliamentary service” between Battersea Park and Clapham High Street.
But today, London Overground were running four trains per hour between Dalston Junction and Battersea Park stations, as there was a track fault, which meant trains couldn’t get between Wandsworth Road and Clapham Junction stations.
I took these pictures on my journey.
It certainly looked, like London Overground weren’t having much trouble, in running four trains per hour between Dalston Junction and Battersea Park stations.
Crossrail Gets A Convenient Hotel
This article on The Urban Developer is entitled London’s Newest Skyscraper Gets Green Light.
This is the first two paragraphs.
London’s Paddington will soon be home to a new 20-storey hotel tower, dubbed The Gateway Building, after planning permission was granted by Westminster council planners.
The Sheldon Square site will house the 113-metre-high hotel designed by architects Carmody Groarke for developer British Land. The hotel will provide access to the area’s new Crossrail station, with the third basement level expected to provide access to the Elizabeth Line — connecting Reading with London and Heathrow.
As they say, location is everything!
- Crossrail will whisk you to and from Heathrow.
- There’s not many hotels with direct access to the station underneath.
- For the businessman who has everything, Bond Street is only one stop away for the trophy wife to spend your hard-earned money.
- The City and Canary Wharf are just a few stops further.
I doubt the hotel will be a Premier Inn.
How many other skyscraper hotels will sprout up along Crossrail?
Each one will be another nail in the coffin of Heathrow Express.
The Reliability Of Online Reviews
Wake Up To Money this morning on BBC Radio 5 was talking about the reliability of on-line reviews.
So I sent in the following text.
As a coeliac, I find if I type “gluten free restaurant” with the city I’m in, I find somewhere good. Perhaps coeliacs don’t want to drop their peers in it!
It wasn’t read out directly, but someone else had said the same thing and the two messages were combined.
The method has certainly found me some very good gluten-free meals.
Are The Geordies Backing The Extended Borders Railway?
This article in the Morpeth Herald is entitled The Positive Impact Of Dr Beeching.
The author reviews what Doctor Beeching did and gives him credit for the good to go with the bad.
This is a paragraph.
It is often thought that Dr Beeching was negative, closing lines and stations, but his positive suggestions resulted in InterCity express trains and high density ‘commuter’ services, while his most dramatic change was to create bulk-load freight services, Freightliners, using containers. These have been really successful.
The author then goes on to give reasons, why the Borders Railway should be extended South, including using the line to bring timber from the maturing Kielder Forest to where it is needed.
He also suggests that the route from St. Boswells to Tweedmouth be reinstated to create an inland diversion route for the East Coast Main Line, which runs close to the sea.
The article makes some very valid points and it all builds a strong case for improved railways in the Borderlands between Edinburgh, Carlisle and Newcastle.
The Bloomberg Building Revealed
The hoardings are now down on the Bloomberg Building.
I have read in today’s Sunday Times, that the free exhibition on the site of the Temple of Mithras and the antiquities found on the site will open on the 14th of November.
The Rigid Overhead Conductor Rails At St. Pancras Thameslink Station
Whilst waiting for a train in St. Pancras Thameslink station, I noticed that the station has been fitted with rigid overhead conductor rails.
I couldn’t remember it being there before. But I don’t often go to the station.
However, I did find this page in Rail Forums, which is entitled Conductor Rail At St. Pancras Thameslink.
Apparently, the change was made at Easter 2013. This is one reply.
Installed over Easter. Known as conductor beam. The contact wire is fixed to the underside. Much more robust than regular OLE, and practically zero maintenance.
It has replaced a tricky tension length of OLE between approx half way along St Pancras LL platforms and the middle of the old KX Thameslink platforms. The curvature, cant and gradient change through this section made the OLE pretty difficult to keep in the right place and had high wear rates.
Likely the conductor beam will be extended north through to Dock Jn and through the new Canal tunnels, not confirmed yet.
Given the robust nature and lower maintenance costs, I think we’ll be seeing lots more of this type of electrification.
What’s The Weather Like In Africa?
This is a difficult question to answer, as Africa only has a limited number of weather stations.
So along comes Kukua, which has designed a low-cost, mobile network-connected, solar-powered weather station.
There’s a report in the latest edition of BBC Click.
It shows how the devices are helping small farmers in Africa.
The Anonymous Widower 