Speaking on Times Radio Breakfast on Sunday 25 October, the day before Oxford Street closed to traffic, Cllr Paul Fisher said the Mayor's scheme was "fundamentally a lazy attempt at legacy by Sadiq Khan".
Paul, Westminster City Council's Cabinet Member for Value for Money and Finance, told presenter Olly Mann: "Running out of ideas, the big ideas for our capital, he's decided that the easiest route to achieving that legacy is simply to shut down part of the nation's high street."
He agreed that Oxford Street needed change. "The pavements needed at the very least to be widened. We've seen increased footfall as a consequence of the astonishing success of the Elizabeth line." But there had been plans in place under both the previous Conservative administration and Labour, and "Sadiq Khan has ridden roughshod over all of that", forcing the council to hand over the street.
Traffic pushed into the side streets
"Even on the Mayor's own modelling, you're going to see an increase of 200 cars during rush hour in the side streets around Oxford Street. Wigmore Street is going to be heavily congested." Bus routes have been rerouted too, which Paul said would affect people travelling into work and those who live in the side streets.
Not against pedestrianisation, against doing it without a plan
Asked whether he was opposed to pedestrianising any part of London, Paul said: "I'm not opposed to pedestrianising any bit of London, but I am opposed to pedestrianising a key artery, if not the key artery, in the West End without proper planning."
He also raised public safety, the prospect of more crime and antisocial behaviour, and emergency access: "It's only a matter of years since we saw mass looting on Oxford Street, and there's a serious question about how you get emergency vehicles down Oxford Street to combat that if it happens again."
Handed over by Labour
Paul reminded listeners that it was Westminster's Labour administration that handed highways authority for the street to the Mayor last year: "They should at least have asked Sadiq to come up with a plan on all of these fronts, and he's failed to do so."
"It's going to happen now, and of course, we have to accept that," he said. "We want to minimise the impact as much as possible."
Tell us what matters to you: westm.news/listening
