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North Sydney Council votes to retain Miller Street park amid resident opposition

A pop-up street park located on a busy roadway in North Sydney has left locals fuming. Despite this, councillors have voted to keep it in place. Find out why.

A photo of the pop-up park.
A photo of the pop-up park.

A pop-up park created on a busy roadway in a north shore town centre will remain in place for at least another 10 months despite critics labelling it a “waste of money” and calling for its removal.

North Sydney councillors have voted to retain a new parklet which has involved turning one northbound traffic lane of Miller St, North Sydney into a community pop-up green space.

The pop-up park opened in October 2021 with features including seats, umbrellas, planter boxes and an outdoor piano. It was funded by a $369,710 state government grant aimed at creating new suburban green spaces during the peak of the Covid-19 lockdowns.

Almost 18 months on, a consultation report on the park has now revealed 60 per cent of the 181 public submissions from residents are against the park remaining.

A majority of objections centred on the park’s traffic impacts, including congestion caused by the lane closure, and concerns the park had made Miller St “too narrow” for cars to safely navigate.

The park includes an outdoor piano.
The park includes an outdoor piano.

There have also been objections which highlighted the traffic impacts from the removal of the right-hand turning lane from the Pacific Hwy into Miller St.

In a submission, resident Yee Ooi said an increase in cars in North Sydney following the lifting of Covid-19 restrictions had created a “funnelling effect” which had exacerbated traffic congestion.

The park has involved changes to the turning lane from the Pacific Hwy.
The park has involved changes to the turning lane from the Pacific Hwy.

“The pop up has been a waste of money (and) I have observed daily, weekly and at weekends this current pop up is not being used,” resident Jean Shaw added. “Take it down now and allow traffic to flow normally.”

Resident Anne Hamilton said the pop up park was a “disaster for traffic” and made the drive up Miller St “quite dangerous, difficult to negotiate and very slow”.

“This pop up area doesn’t invite one to sit and drink coffee alongside struggling traffic and exhaust fumes,” she added.

Those in favour said the pop-up space had offered additional green space to relax and connect with family and friends. Some supporters also called for the complete closure of Miller St, saying it could address a dire shortage of green space in the North Sydney CBD.

A photo of the park.
A photo of the park.
The park is located across the road from Sydney Metro construction works.
The park is located across the road from Sydney Metro construction works.

“We need to make North Sydney more pedestrian and human friendly and less a through strip for cars and buses,” Aaron Hampson Smith wrote in his submission.

Despite a majority of residents’ objections, North Sydney councillors unanimously voted to retain the park until the end of 2023.

A council report states the park should be retained to offset disruption in the area caused by construction works on the Sydney Metro Victoria Cross station which had created “significant impacts” on the local environment including the closure of the footpath on the other side of Miller St.

Councillors also supported retaining the contentious closure of the left-hand turn slip lane into Miller St from the Pacific Hwy. A council report shows cost of upgrading the intersection of Pacific Hwy and Miller St to permanently ban the left-hand turn lane was expected to cost the council $155,000.

A photo outlining traffic rules changes prompted by the park’s construction.
A photo outlining traffic rules changes prompted by the park’s construction.

Ms Baker said she understood the concerns of residents and flagged there could be changes to the layout of the pop-up, including removal of some of the “obstacles” for pedestrians.

“I’m not surprised by some of the feedback and I share some of the views – it’s no secret when it previously came to the council I did not support it because of the large expense. My view is that pop-up infrastructure should be done on a tight budget,” she said.

“Miller St is within a very constrained precinct in terms of traffic and it’s exacerbated by the level of construction from the Metro and other construction projects.

“The reason (we’re keeping it until the end of 2023) is a strategic one – the council has a live policy of creating placemaking outside the new Metro station which is supported by Transport for NSW and Lendlease which is building the overstation development above the Metro station.

“The hope is (the pop-up) will support the larger vision of creating a civic plaza on Miller St that will become the real heart of the CBD.”

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Original URL: https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/newslocal/north-shore/north-sydney-council-votes-to-retain-miller-street-park-amid-resident-opposition/news-story/9da5fa1815006f79974ed4943094484c