Chapter 3 – Part four: A central metropolitan block

Oxford Street

358

These conclusions at once brought up the question of Oxford Street in an acute manner. How could this street act both as a distributor and also as a major shopping street? There appeared to be only one answer to this dilemma, namely to raise the pedestrians and (ultimately) the shopping frontages above the vehicular trafic in some manner. An ingenious idea by which this might be done was recently put forward by the architect Mr D. Rigby Childs.* He proposed the erection of an elevated free standing pedestrian mall down the centre of Oxford Street for its full length (Figure 206). It would comprise a platform, cantilevesed out Frot central columns, and standing about 20 ft. above existing road level. It would not reach out to the facadcs of the existing buildings but would stop short by about is ft. The closing of the gap, thereby providing pedestrian froess to the buildings at first floor level, would be a matter for each frontager to decide in the knowiedge that, once the structure had been erected, a strictly limited period would elapse before all pedestrian move-absor was transferred to the upper level, and the existing pavements abst obed into the carriageway to provide more space for traffic. The total cost the project, including a roofed-over travalator for the full length of Oxford Street (1.2 miles) is estimated to be of the order of £12 milions.

*See Architect’s Journal, 223 March, 1961.

359

It could not be claimed for this proposition that it would give as good a result as if the reconstruction of Oxford Street had been tackled comprehensively before the present piecemeal reconstruction began after the war. But it would certainly produce pleasant, indeed unique shopping conditions, and if only minimum redevelopment is contemplated it seems to be the only course now available for the rescue of the street from the confusion into which it is falling.