Shibuya comes to London

I have many memories of crossing the gigantic X outside Tokyo’s Shibuya Station that gave rise to the new pedestrian scramble at Oxford Circus. Just what our capital needs: a rare move away from the over-controlling bossiness of New Labour schemes, and towards an emphasis on personal responsibility. Studies show such junctions reduce traffic accidents while increasing capacity, which – if you’ve ever spent 15mins negotiating this single junction on a Saturday – can only be a good thing.