Oxford Circus

Oxford Circus
Oxford Circus in November 2009 with new diagonal crossing
Location
Westminster, London, UK
Coordinates:51°30′55″N 0°08′31″W / 51.5153°N 0.142°W / 51.5153; -0.142
Roads at
junction:		Regent Street and Oxford Street
Construction
Type:Intersection
A panoramic view of Oxford Circus, looking down Regent Street, as it was in March 2006

Oxford Circus is the busy intersection of Oxford Street and Regent Street in the West End of London. It is served by Oxford Circus tube station, which is directly beneath the junction itself.

History

The Circus was constructed in the beginning of the 19th century, and was designed by John Nash.

Diagonal crossing

In 2009, Westminster City Council started a £4m scheme for the area, allowing shoppers to cross the intersection diagonally as well as the usual 'straight ahead', turning it into a "pedestrian scramble", much like Tokyo's Shibuya crossing.[1]

The crossing opened on November 2nd of the same year, by which time the cost had risen to £5 million.[2] The Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, said it was "a triumph for British engineering, Japanese innovation and good old common sense". Others noted that a similar crossing in Balham, South London had opened in 2005 at a cost of only £98,000.[3][4]

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Oxford Circus.
  1. ↑ "Oxford Circus may get Tokyo look". BBC. 10 July 2008.
  2. ↑ "Oxford Circus 'X-crossing' opens". BBC. 2 November 2009.
  3. ↑ "Oxford Circus X-crossing opened, but is it first?". Archived from the original on 2011-07-22. Retrieved 2013-02-07.
  4. ↑ Metro: "I'd cross the road for this", 3 November 2009, page 27