Businesses and people walking and riding are among those set to reap the benefits of a renewed Castlereagh Street after the City of Sydney's improvement works.
The public domain renewal has upgraded 3,000 square metres of footpath space and made more room for walking, seating and trees between Liverpool and King streets, while also improving conditions for people riding.
Widening the footpath will make accessing the Metro's Gadigal Station even easier for commuters, while encouraging business to activate and trade in the upgraded space.
"We are transforming not just how people get around the city, but how we experience it, with more space for walking, riding and outdoor seating and dining," Lord Mayor of Sydney, Clover Moore AO said.
"Changes to routes shifted a large number of buses from Castlereagh Street to Elizabeth Street. The reduced bus traffic created an opportunity to make Castlereagh Street a low-traffic promenade, with greater space for people to walk, ride and dine.
"The existing cycleway on Castlereagh Street south sees around 4,000 bike trips a week and we expect this number to increase with this important new cycleway connection.
"People walking account for three-quarters of trips on Castlereagh Street, and pedestrian activity is growing with the opening the Metro station, so doubling the footpath space makes it safer for people on foot while also opening up more opportunities for outdoor dining and increased tree canopy.
"We know some of this work has impacted businesses and we hope the renewed space will attract more people to Castlereagh Street and encourage Sydneysiders to linger and enjoy all that's on offer." Taking advantage of the extra space, 4 businesses have already been approved for outdoor dining.
As part of the project, 12 trees and 25 benches for people to stop and rest have been added while safety at intersections has been improved.
The 850m section of the cycleway is now operational allowing people to ride between Circular Quay, Central and Green Square on a direct, dedicated cycling link. This will help residents, workers and visitors get into and around the city centre.
People riding can also access Liverpool Street cycleway, King Street cycleway and the soon to be completed Oxford Street West cycleway.
Between Park and Market streets, the cycleway has temporary sections to accommodate the Metro's works at Gadigal station, and a private development at the corner of Castlereagh and Market streets.
The City of Sydney continues to work collaboratively with stakeholders and we look forward to these projects being completed so we can put the finishing touches on this section so Sydneysiders can enjoy the renewed space.
This project is part of a program to make Sydney a safer place for people to walk and ride, and provide more options for people to travel around the city.
The Castlereagh Street public domain improvements are jointly funded by the City of Sydney and the NSW Government.
