Plans to transform the Oxford Circus road junction in London into two car-free piazzas with trees and seating have been announced by Westminster City Council and the Crown Estate.
An international design competition held by the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) to deliver the final scheme will be held this summer.
The transformation aims to address air quality, safety and congestion at Oxford Circus, which is a busy intersection between major shopping destinations Oxford Street and Regents Street.
The organisers of the competition hope that the finished space will become "a rival to Times Square".
Project is "first significant redesign" of district in decades
The project forms part of Westminster City Council and the Crown Estate's wider redesign of Oxford Street into a "globally competitive centre". The plans also respond to changing shopping and working habits, hastened by the pandemic, a need for greener public spaces and the arrival of the new Elizabeth line that is expected to bring in an extra 60 million pedestrians to the area per year.
Plans to pedestrianise Oxford Circus have been announced
"These new bold plans to reinvent Oxford Circus will see the first significant redesign of the nation's favourite high street in decades," said Westminster City Council leader Rachael Robathan.
"The serious congestion of Oxford Circus, of people and of traffic, is unsustainable and demands action" she continued.
"...