Crows Nest: North Sydney Council to carry out major ‘eat street’ upgrades in town centre

Crows Nest restaurant owners are calling for cars to be banned from a major street in the town centre as part of upgrades designed to cement the suburb’s status as an ‘eat street’.

A concept plan of the new upgrades.

Crows Nest restaurant owners are calling for cars to be banned from a major street in the town centre as part of upgrades designed to cement the suburb’s status as an ‘eat street’.

North Sydney Council has released a long-planned transformation project for the Willoughby Rd dining strip with the aim of enticing visitors and attracting new businesses to the town centre.

The works are set to feature new and upgraded outdoor dining terraces, planter boxes, lighting upgrades, landscaping works and an ambitious proposal to move overhead power lines underground.

North Sydney Council plans state the upgrades will enhance the ‘village feel’ of Crows Nest, attract new businesses to the area and increase visitation.

The proposal has support from many business owners, however at least 10 hospitality venues have called on the council to consider making a main section of Willoughby Rd a pedestrian zone by banning cars.

An early concept plan of the street upgrades.

Oscar Lenden, owner of Small Bar, is one business supporting the pedestrian-friendly proposal.

“The consultation from the council to date has been limited and they’re more telling us what they’re looking to do rather than asking us,” he said. “Our idea is to make Willoughby Rd a walk through and not a road for cars and a lot of businesses are in favour it – even if it was just on weekends.

The upgrades include new outdoor dining areas.

“It would make it less noisy, take the cars off the road, the buses are feral.

“If they’re going to spend the money making it an eat street they may as well do it properly.

“We’re happy the upgrades are finally going ahead – but why limit it?”

Plans for the project have been in the works since 2014 and attracted more than 140 submissions from residents during consultation.

Oscar Lenden, the owner of Small Bar in Crows Nest.

Resident Sue Wadley said the facelift of the town centre was long overdue – noting many of the current umbrellas in outdoor dining areas were “dirty and covered in mould”.

“It will significantly improve the aesthetic of Willoughby Rd and help establish Crows Nest once again as an eat street,” she said.

A bulk of new upgrades will take place between Burlington St to Albany St, with future works also earmarked for the northern end of Willoughby Rd.

The upgrades on Willoughby Rd are due to begin this year.

The council is anticipating disruption during construction periods, expected to begin in August, including temporary loss of carparking spaces.

Resident Veena Macarty in a submission said Crows Nest had “lost its village ambience”.

“I have lived in Crows Nest for over 30 years and watched with dismay as the amenity of our village has slowly deteriorated,” she wrote.

“It’s noisy, smelly, has dirty laneways, it’s become overcrowded, and clogged up with cars and buses.

“There is a lack of diversity of restaurants, too many scrappy take away cafes and an absence of smart restaurants.”

A North Sydney Council spokeswoman in a statement said: “the possibility of pedestrianising Willoughby Road has been raised with us however it was not considered in the scope of this project which is a streetscape upgrade.”

“Council made it clear when we were consulting about this project that there would be no loss of parking and no change to traffic conditions,” a council spokeswoman said.

“The road currently serves as a regional bus route and any consideration to pedestrinise it would require in depth transport and traffic analysis.”