I think he did him a disservice there. Not pushing it through doesn't necessarily show Khan's weakness, as it really isn't an easy thing to do.
Most cities in the world have learned that pedestrianised areas lead to an improved economy
This is an interesting one. Needless to say, the pedestrianised areas are in town centres, and their economic success depends on that old advantage of cities, concentration of activity. Pedestrianised areas allow more of that, as less space is used for motor traffic immediately around shops--this can free whole city blocks, improves walkability, obviously air quality, frees space up for street traders or markets, etc., leading to further concentration, with more people wanting to travel there to enjoy the advantages.
Needless to say, in Oxford Street, with its extremely good public transport connections (probably the best in the world bar only a few locations), this model would work. However, it would undoubtedly cause motor traffic capacity increases around Oxford Street. There is demand, certainly from wealthy residents who wish to drive, from delivery and servicing traffic (whose volumes would increase following pedestrianisation), the inevitable increase in construction activity, and so forth. TfL have already mooted the daft Roads Task Force underground ring road, and as the history of the 20th century has shown, these plans never really die.
The downside is that it draws economic activity away from other areas, and while it might be nice for some to have a clean and posh Oxford Street instead of what it now is, with some distinctly non-posh elements, other areas would suffer--there's little 'trickle-down' effect from major shopping centres, whether they're outside of town or inside. This means more travel, and indeed in smaller cities where public transport is less well-developed than in London, the main mode of travel to such centres is by car, with many public car parks ringing the pedestrianised city centre.
Obviously, doing nothing is not an option, but Khan would be better advised to pursue interlinked smaller projects towards the same goal than hanging this major project around his neck.
I mentioned the idea to my mum 25 years ago when I was 5yo after we went to Oxford Street instead of Croydon for "the big shops". I suspect I still wasn't first with the idea.
Interestingly, Christian Wolmar claims that Khan taking on pedestrianising Oxford Street was down to him suggesting it at a hustings:
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/jun/08/oxford-street-london-traffic-sadiq-khan-westminster
I think he did him a disservice there. Not pushing it through doesn't necessarily show Khan's weakness, as it really isn't an easy thing to do.
This is an interesting one. Needless to say, the pedestrianised areas are in town centres, and their economic success depends on that old advantage of cities, concentration of activity. Pedestrianised areas allow more of that, as less space is used for motor traffic immediately around shops--this can free whole city blocks, improves walkability, obviously air quality, frees space up for street traders or markets, etc., leading to further concentration, with more people wanting to travel there to enjoy the advantages.
Needless to say, in Oxford Street, with its extremely good public transport connections (probably the best in the world bar only a few locations), this model would work. However, it would undoubtedly cause motor traffic capacity increases around Oxford Street. There is demand, certainly from wealthy residents who wish to drive, from delivery and servicing traffic (whose volumes would increase following pedestrianisation), the inevitable increase in construction activity, and so forth. TfL have already mooted the daft Roads Task Force underground ring road, and as the history of the 20th century has shown, these plans never really die.
The downside is that it draws economic activity away from other areas, and while it might be nice for some to have a clean and posh Oxford Street instead of what it now is, with some distinctly non-posh elements, other areas would suffer--there's little 'trickle-down' effect from major shopping centres, whether they're outside of town or inside. This means more travel, and indeed in smaller cities where public transport is less well-developed than in London, the main mode of travel to such centres is by car, with many public car parks ringing the pedestrianised city centre.
Obviously, doing nothing is not an option, but Khan would be better advised to pursue interlinked smaller projects towards the same goal than hanging this major project around his neck.