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.
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.
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.
An MP Guilty Of Sexual Impropriety
One night many years ago, C and myself had a dinner party. One of the guests brought her husband with her. At the time, the husband may have still been an MP, or he may just have just lost an election.
At dinner, he constantly fiddled with C’s leg, but she had been warned of his probably behaviour, by one her best friends and had worn protection in the shape of a long dress, with layers of petticoats underneath.
Even with permission, it was difficult to find you way in!
C handled herself and anyway, he was the sort of man, she wouldn’t have fancied in a whole century of Sundays.
A few days later on meeting her friend, C related the incident.
Her friend then told her what had happened at a party that she had given. One of her female friends had got rather drunk and had been led upstairs by the MP.
Everything was apparently going well, until the MP got undressed.
On seeing his filthy grey vest that was full of large holes, the lady came to her senses, laughed extremely loudly and long and returned to the party.
Australia’s Dual Citizenship Row
This article on the BBC is entitled Barnaby Joyce: Australia Deputy PM Disqualified From Office. This is said.
Australian Deputy PM Barnaby Joyce and four other politicians were wrongly elected because they held dual citizenship, a court has ruled.
The High Court of Australia decision means three of the politicians, including Mr Joyce, are disqualified from office. The others quit in July.
Australia’s constitution prohibits dual citizens from being elected.
So what are the rules in the UK?
This page on the UK Parliament web site is entitled Who Can Stand As An MP?. This is said.
People wishing to stand as an MP must be over 18 years of age, be a British citizen or citizen of a Commonwealth country or the Republic of Ireland
Candidates must be nominated by ten parliamentary electors of the constituency they wish to stand in.
There of course a few other rules with respect to things like criminal records.
But it would appear that Barnaby Joyce would be free to stand in a UK Parliamentary election, as he is an Australian citizen.
Andrew Bonar Law, who up until now, is the only Prime Minister born outside the British Isles, was born in Canada.
The Joy Of Physics
On the One Show on BBC television, yesterday there was a report about a man called Ian Tansley, who has invented a vaccine fridge for use in places like Africa, where the electricity is not reliable.
This Wikipedia entry for Sure Chill Technology describes the technology and this report on the BBC, describes how the invention has been backed by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
Physics to many is a dull subject at school, but to me, it’s the key to so many interesting inventions and ideas that will shape our lives in a better way.
A First Visit To Walthamstow Wetlands
Walthamstow Wetlands opened today, so I went to take a look.
It was well worth a visit.
I shall return!
Just Add Trains
I took these pictures of the Gospel Oak to Barking Line, as it passes past the Engine House on the Walthamstow Wetlands site.
This section, which is probably one of the easiest bits to electrify, looks to be ready for the trains.
Note that the pictures looking down on the line were taken from the fire escape on the side of the Engine House, shown in the last picture.
This Google Map shows the Gospel Oak To Barking Line crossing the area.
Note.
- The Engine House has a green label saying Walthamstow Wetlands.
- The bus stops by the Ferry Boat Inn have buses to and from Tottenham Hale and Blackhorse Road stations.
- The Engine House is about a hundred metres from the bus stops and
- The Engine House has a step-free entrance and a lift inside.
The Engine House is certainly worth the walk.
Is A Cap On Energy Prices A Good Idea?
All political parties including the Motherhood and Apple Pie Tendency think this is a good idea, but I’m not sure.
I changed to OVO Energy, one of the smaller companies a couple of years ago, so I looked up on a comparison site to see if I could make a big saving by changing supplier.
Sixty-three suppliers would give me a saving of up to four pounds a month.
As my solar panels haven’t been installed for a year and I don’t know the full affect on my bill yet and I would be changing with solar panels, I shall not be changing my supplier now.
But the interesting figure is that sixty-three different deals were offered. That says to me that competition is working in the energy field.
An Ideal Energy Market
Most consumers would prefer a fixed low price.
But surely, that is impossible as there has to be an equilibrium between the price energy companies pay for their energy and the price they charge consumers.
What happens if there is a global crisis and energy prices are universally high?
The other problem with a low energy price, is that doesn’t encourage consumers to save energy.
The UK’s Energy System
The energy system and market is a constantly changing dynamic system and since energy privatisation in the UK, there have been massive changes to the generation, supply and use of electricity.
- A nnetwork of interconnectors is starting to stretch over Western Europe to allow interchange of electricity.
- Wind and solar power generation are increasing dramatically.
- Coal is dead for generating electricity.
- Consumers have invested in low-energy appliances.
There will be more developments in the next few years.
- A planned interconnector to Iceland could be a game changer.
- Solar panels and energy storage will increasingly be fitted to homes.
- Millions of electric cars will be sold.
- Some high-priced nuclear energy will come on stream.
All of these developments have and will continue to move the energy price up and down.
As a Control Engineer, I know that the best way to get a dynamic system like this to a stable point acceptable to all parties, is to apply as few restrictions as possible.
An energy price cap will impose a condition, that will distort the equilibrium and it might not be in the way that politicians want.
Politicians would be better to concentrate on actions that helped the current system find an equilibrium acceptable to all.
- Make it as easy as possible for consumers to change energy supplier.
- Avoid backing high-priced energy generation like Hinckley Point C.
- Promote lower-cost generation and energy storage systems.
- Fund energy research at universities.
- Build more interconnectors.
But above all they should not distort the market.
As an aside here, I don’t object to Nicola Sturgeon setting up a tax-payer funded energy company in Scotland. In a free market, it will only promote more competition and possibly lower prices.
But it might lose Scotland a lot of money!
The Anonymous Widower 