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Wednesday October 7, 2026 
6 October 2026
A coalition of local business owners and community representatives has launched a campaign to transform a stretch of Willoughby Road into a pedestrian-only zone named Crows Nest Place. The initiative is pushing for two bus lines to be rerouted between Clarke Street and Albany Street, carving out 4,356 square metres of public open space where locals can “gather, dine, and connect.”
Leading the charge is a team of five Willoughby Road business operators alongside three community advocates. Local business owner Sue Wardley, who has championed the idea since 2018, notes that the accelerated population growth in the area, particularly since the opening of the metro station, has made Crows Nest Place a necessity. Projections indicate Crows Nest will reach nearly 30,000 residents by 2036, while public open space is slated to shrink from 3.42m² to just 2.85m² per person.
Reflecting on the origins of the idea, Sue Wardley shared: “We have been talking about it since about 2018 and just thought it was the most obvious thing to do to create some open space because we could see all the development coming… I just thought, no, it’s not good enough to just stop something that can make such a difference to our lives because the buses refuse to reroute. So I thought it’s time to do something.”
Momentum grew as community groups joined forces with local businesses. Chair of the Wollstonecraft Precinct, Jon Hancox, explained the grassroots nature of the campaign:
“So what we’re essentially doing is early community consultation for the council who would otherwise probably have produced a design and then asked the community. So this is a good approach coming from businesses, coming from the community to council.”
North Sydney Council has shown receptiveness to the idea and has encouraged the early community-led consultation. However, local businesses argue that daily life on Willoughby Road still contends with constant disruptions.
Owner of venue Small Bar, Oscar Lenden, is leading the charge on behalf of local businesses. He believes Crows Nest Place would have significant economic and communal benefits: “We are a community here already, but now we could join the two sides of the street. If you look on the Western side, we’re like a nighttime trade and late afternoon, and the other side is more a coffee kind of thing. This will bring the two sides together as well and then create a more harmonious community.”
Campaigners claim studies suggest pedestrian zones boost foot traffic by 30% and retail trade by up to 40%.
He also believes diners would be a big winner if the project went ahead: “So there’s a thing we call the ‘Willoughby pause.’ You’d be sitting out there having a beer and you’re chilling out, and then you go, oh wait, bus coming. Stop the conversation. And it goes, and then all right, carry on. That’s something that will create a better environment for the punters sitting out there having a drink.”
Urban designer, architect and local Denis Moore emphasised the proven success of similar pedestrian transformations internationally, pointing to Dublin’s Grafton Street:
“What I’d like to see is some kind of design in terms of pedestrian pavement, in terms of planters, in terms of more greening in the space to give shade and so on. And a lot of the hospitality venues can open out to the street. So they have more capture of the streets, more engagement with the street.”
Closer to home, the group hopes to replicate the success of similar projects such as the Manly Corso and Kioara Place, Double Bay.
The community recently experienced a glimpse of the potential future during the North Sydney Streets: Crows Nest event, where buses were temporarily rerouted and the street was closed to traffic. The event drew large crowds, with local businesses spreading their footprint out onto the road.
Wardley noted overwhelmingly positive feedback on the day, with locals telling her, “This is so amazing because I never let my child on a scooter on the footpath because it’s too dangerous,” while Lenden said it was easily Small Bar’s second-best day of the year after the annual Crows Nest Festival.
Despite local support and potential economic benefits, the project faces one major hurdle: state-controlled bus routes 115 and 263. While North Sydney Council owns the road, Transport for NSW retains jurisdiction over bus networks and has resisted rerouting the lines.
With a public petition and letter-writing campaign underway, organisers hope to persuade transport authorities to clear the final roadblock, turning Crows Nest Place into a reality.