Oxford Circus goes naked with X-shaped crossing

The London mayor, Boris Johnson, has transformed Europe’s busiest pedestrian crossing at Oxford Circus by removing kerbs, railings and introducing an x-shaped crossing – a street planning concept known as ‘naked streets’.

The £5m project has seen barriers removed and traffic lights replaced to allow twice the number of pedestrians to cross the junction. The improvements extend 500 metres down Regent Street and Oxford Street with wider pavements and better lighting.

A spokesperson for the Environmental Transport Association (ETA) said: “It may be known the world over as London’s top shopping spot, but a constant-stream of diesel-engined buses and taxis, narrow pavements and almost complete pedestrian gridlock at Oxford Circus had rendered the area far from people friendly. The improvements challenge the assumption that cars have precedence and make the area a more pleasant place to be.”

What are ‘naked streets’?

Southampton has already introduced a ‘shared space’ scheme that involves improving road safety by stripping streets of their markings and even pavements.

The creation of so-called ‘naked streets’ by removing pedestrian crossings and white lines creates uncertainty in road users that forces them to pay greater attention and slow down. Drivers soon become aware that a person could step out from any number of informal crossing points.

The idea of ‘shared space’ was pioneered by planners in the town of Drachten and has spread as far afield as Australia and America.

How does the idea of ‘shared space’ work?

Shared space schemes work because they use basic psychology to slow traffic. Signs, barriers and segregation reduce individual responsibility whereas people take greater care feel when they feel slightly at risk. ‘Naked streets’ forces everyone to slow down and establish eye contact with other in order to establish other peoples’ intentions.

Brighton has transformed one street into a fully shared space, with no delineation of the carriageway except for subtle changes in materials. There has been a 93% increase in cycling and a reduction in speed to around 10mph. Similar schemes in continental Europe have seen road casualties reduced to zero.

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