Monorail for Oxford Street?

A monorail has been proposed as a radical solution to Oxford Street's transport gridlock.

It would run on a track 50ft above the heads of shoppers - making it possible to pedestrianise the street.

The idea has been drawn up by engineers KBR with the backing of Lord Rogers, the Mayor's leading architectural adviser.

He outlined the need to create a more "civilised" environment, allowing Oxford Street to compete with outof-town shopping centres such as Bluewater in Kent.

Ian Wilder, the Westminster councillor behind the monorail scheme, said his dream was a system that would run the mile-length of the street and link it with Piccadilly Circus.

It would also serve a new convention centre - either at the Royal Mail depot in Rathbone Place, at the eastern end of Oxford Street, or beneath Marble Arch.

He said it would be far easier to introduce than a tram - mooted by Ken Livingstone - because underground utilities and water mains would not have to be moved at vast expense.

Mr Wilder said: "The thing that will change Oxford Street is the monorail. The point is that monorails work. They form other interesting opportunities - we can morph the stations into the side of buildings.

"Someone going to Oxford Street could go into Selfridges, avoiding the wet, and go down the escalator to the street. The monorail is also a lot cheaper than a tram. It doesn't rule out doing other things and having vehicles underneath such as taxis."

Lord Rogers, who outlined the proposal-to leading West End politicians and business leaders, said a similar system worked well in Sydney, Australia, where a 2.2-mile circular monorail used by four million people a year links the city's tourist hotspots with the central business district.

Lord Rogers also suggested running only two lanes of buses along Oxford Street, banning other traffic.

"It's like a moving chain," he said. "It doubles the width of pavements, which is the critical thing. You would get a civilised space outside shops in Oxford Street.

"It would leave a wonderful public space below."

He added: "I don't want to push my luck, but I think Oxford Street may be the most unpleasant major street that I know in any capital.

"It's even more unpleasant at Christmas, when you are pushed off the pavement. It has a negative effect on the quality of life."

A spokeswoman for Sydney Monorail said: "From our exper ience, it would relieve both pedestrian and traffic problems."