London began a pedestrianization trial on Oxford Street in late October 2026, banning vehicles, buses, bikes and scooters from 0.6 miles of the 1.2-mile street, with Mayor Sadiq Khan backing it. Vacancy rates had climbed from 4.5% in 2019 to almost 17% by early 2023, and 39 retailers including Zara and Nike have signed deals in the past year. Cabbies and Marylebone residents argue the traffic will simply move to surrounding neighborhoods. The city is now installing bench sensors to count sitters and measure ambient temperature during the trial, shifting attention to how the trial's success will be judged. Oxford Street draws around half a million people a day, and the pedestrianization debate dates to the 1960s.