By Rosie Duffield
Boris Johnson today unveiled Europe’s busiest diagonal crossing at London’s Oxford Circus.
Channel 4 reported that ‘The design of the new £5m crossing was inspired by the Shibuya crossing in Tokyo and allows pedestrians to cross diagonally in an “X” which should cut congestion and ease overcrowding.’
Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, unveiled the crossing by banging a gong at a ceremony that took place this morning, BBC online reported.
The Mayor said the crossing was a, ‘a triumph for British engineering, Japanese innovation and good old-fashioned common sense.’
‘The head scratching frustration caused by the previous design is over and we’ve brought one of the world’s greatest crossroads into the twenty-first century,” he added.
Channel 4 reported on a similar scheme which was introduced on Kensington High Street which has seen road accidents reduced dramatically. The online report stated ‘In 1999/2000 there were over 150 accidents, 17 of those serious.’
It went on to say, ‘In 2007/2008, after the “naked road” was in place, that figure dropped by two thirds to 53 accidents – 11 of them serious.’
The revamped intersection has reopened in time for London’s Christmas lights, which will be turned on along Oxford Street and Regent Street on November 3.
