Crows Nest Place
eat, play, connect
Willoughby Road with buses and cars lifting off the street and people filling the space Willoughby Road as a lively pedestrian street with cafes, families and street trees View from inside a cafe onto the pedestrianised Willoughby Road Willoughby Road pedestrianised at dusk, with string lights, diners and live music

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Sign the petition Why it matters
Why Crows Nest Place matters

Crows Nest needs more open space now!

By 2036, there will be nearly 30,000 people living in Crows Nest - St Leonards.  That's around 17,000 more people than in 2016.  Almost 90% of residents in the North Sydney LGA will live in apartments,  relying on shared open spaces, parks and facilities for recreation, health and wellbeing.

Aerial view of Crows Nest and St Leonards in 2036 showing projected high-rise density above the harbour suburbs
Projected development for Crows Nest - St Leonards by 2036 (Image credit: North Sydney Council)

We don't have enough open space now!

3.42 sqm
Current amount of open space per person in Crows Nest – St Leonards
2.85 sqm 
Future amount of open space per person by 2036
Acute shortage of open space
Open space per person (sqm)
Current Waverton Catchment
62.24
Current Crows Nest – St Leonards 
3.42
Future by 2036
2.85
Crows Nest - St Leonards has the lowest open space per person in the whole of the North Sydney LGA.
The solution is simple

Make Willoughby Road  pedestrian only 
(from Clarke Street to Albany Street)

Transform it into Crows Nest Place — a vibrant pedestrian-only space where people can eat, play and connect.

THE CHALLENGE IS BUSES

Re-route the buses!

Help us move buses away from Willoughby Road to a nearby location, and create a street for people. To do this, we need a commitment from the NSW Minister for Transport to reroute  the buses currently using Willoughby Road, and to help us create Crows Nest Place.

Why pedestrians first
Take action

Make it happen

Sign the petition Add your name to the call to transform Willoughby Road into Crows Nest Place. Sign now → Write to the Minister Send a letter to the NSW Minister for Transport asking for buses to be re-routed and to help create Crows nest Place. Send the letter →
Willoughby Road today — cars, vans and buses dominate the street
Before
Willoughby Road today - dominated by cars
Willoughby Road transformed into Crows Nest Place — a lively pedestrian street
After
Crows Nest Place — a street for people
LEARN MORE

Community information session

Come to our Community Information Session:
When
7.00pm
Thursday 22 October 2026
Where
Crows Nest Community Centre
Johnson Hall
Ernest Place, Crows Nest
Register
If that doesn't open your email app, send it yourself to svw2709@yahoo.com.au
What we'll cover
→ Why Crows Nest Place is needed
→ What Crows Nest Place could look like
→ What you can do to make it happen
Petition

For the pedestrianisation of Willoughby Road, Crows Nest

To:

The Hon. John Graham MLC — Special Minister of State, Minister for Transport, Minister for the Arts, Minister for Music and the Night-time Economy

The Hon. Jenny Aitchison MP — Minister for Roads, Minister for Regional Transport

We, the undersigned residents, workers and supporters of Crows Nest, call on the NSW Government to reroute bus services away from Willoughby Road to a nearby alternative location, so that Willoughby Road between Clarke Street and Albany Street can be transformed into a pedestrian-only precinct — Crows Nest Place.

We ask the NSW Government to work with North Sydney Council and the community to:

  • Reroute bus services from Willoughby Road to a nearby location that continues to provide efficient public transport access.
  • Make Willoughby Road, between Clarke Street and Albany Street, pedestrian-only.
  • Support the creation of Crows Nest Place — a vibrant public space with trees, seating, outdoor dining and room for community events, making the most of the new Metro station.

Why this is needed:

  • Crows Nest is one of Sydney's fastest-growing centres, yet it has very little public open space. With thousands of new residents and visitors arriving with the Sydney Metro, our community urgently needs a place to gather, relax and connect.
  • Investigation of the proposal is already included in North Sydney Council's Delivery Plan (2025/29) with a study for the closure, budgeted this financial year (2026/27).
  • If approved, it would create approximately 4,300 sqm of active public space along Willoughby Road — complementing Ernest Place and the new Hume Street Park (Stage 1, and Stage 2 due for completion in 2027/28) — bringing the total activated public space in the precinct to approximately 11,300 sqm.
  • Rerouting buses to a nearby location would preserve efficient public transport access for the area while removing through-traffic from the heart of the precinct.

We urge the Ministers to support the creation of Crows Nest Place.

Sign the petition
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Crows Nest Place — eat, play, connect