Residents, workers, students and visitors of Chippendale and the surrounding area, ask the City of Sydney to permanently close Kensington Street, Chippendale, between Broadway and Regent Street, to all motor vehicles except service vehicles, and to make it a full-time pedestrian street.

Why

Kensington Street already works as a pedestrian street — it just isn't one yet. The City approved it as a Shared Zone in 2014, and the original master plan for the precinct designated it for pedestrians only. Cars were kept in by a later design choice, not because the street needs through traffic.

•      It's already a people place. The street is home to Spice Alley, restaurants, bars, galleries and the Chippendale Creative Precinct, and links on foot to Central Park and Broadway.

•      Closures have worked before. In 2020 the City endorsed closing the street between Outram and Dwyer Streets to vehicles from 11 am to midnight, Thursday to Sunday, for a year. The City's own traffic report noted it had received no traffic complaints about previous closures.

•      Safety. Shared Zones still mix cars with diners, children, cyclists and people using mobility aids on a narrow, compressed carriageway. Removing private cars removes most of that risk.

•      Local business. More space for outdoor dining, events and foot traffic, without the cost of applying for temporary closures again and again.

Heritage and amenity. Less traffic means less wear on the clay pavers and heritage fabric, less noise and cleaner air for residents and students nearby