Crown Street, Sydney Set to Receive $32-Million Upgrade

Plans have been submitted to implement a $32-million upgrade to a portion of Crown Street in Surry Hills, seeking to improve and modernise the public spaces and footpaths in the area, encourage visitors, and provide a much-needed boost to local businesses.

A 1-kilometre stretch of Crown Street between Devonshire St and Oxford St is the subject of the proposed multimillion-dollar makeover, which will include:

removing timber electrical poles and placing overhead electrical cables underground
new multi-function smart poles with LED streetlights
footpath widening, kerb upgrades, and pedestrian ramp upgrades
replacing the existing signal crossing at Crown Street Public School with a raised zebra crossing
new garden beds along the street, new bubblers, bike racks, and seating.

Three of the existing trees in the area will be replaced with 40 new trees, in order to increase the canopy cover by 50 per cent. Likewise, eight of the on-street parking spaces will be converted into tree pits, with a new footpath in the area.

Fresh Air and More Canopy Cover

These improvements are expected to provide both shade and fresh air, providing more venues to hang out in and encouraging greater outdoor interaction.

“We’re working hard to improve our streets and public spaces to make them more inviting and sustainable for our residents, visitors and workers,” the Lord Mayor of Sydney said.

“As we strive to create an environment to support our pandemic recovery efforts, local businesses are being given an environment that people want to visit, to come together, be entertained and be inspired.”

“We can clearly see the enormous benefit that creating calmer, safer streets, wider footpaths and planting new trees and garden beds have for local communities.”

“I would love to see a bit more al fresco dining, a bit more greenery, just so people have the ability to hang out and to make the whole area more of a destination,” Lachie Thompson from The Winery said.

“It could encourage people to come here, not to just do one thing, but to say, ‘Hey, we can go to Crown Street, maybe we’ll grab a coffee, maybe we’ll grab a few drinks.’

“We’ve been constantly adapting since Covid and trying to find our new normal. I definitely think these public spaces can have a positive benefit for business.”

The public consultation on the proposed project has concluded and all feedback is now being reviewed. Once endorsed, construction works are expected to commence in 2023.

For the past 12 months, the City of Sydney has completed several footway upgrades including locations in Glebe, Beaconsfield, Newtown, and Surry Hills as well as upgraded footpaths along Elizabeth Street and Sussex Street in the city centre. Moreover, the Macleay Street Potts Point upgrade is almost complete.

Some Apprehensions

Other small business operators, however, are not keen on the proposal, fearing that construction activities will disrupt the flow of business to the area. This is especially true for businesses whose customers rely on nearby car parking areas to access their shops.

Other are apprehensive that the project will only favour select businesses and may limit curbside spaces for the use of a few businesses.