The council has also floated plans to pedestrianise part of O’Connell Street,and significantly widen footpaths on other parts of Hunter Street to allow for seats and trees to be installed.
Construction of the underground station at Hunter Street as part of the$27 billion Metro West rail line between the CBD and Parramatta is due to start within the next few years.
Twoskyscrapers – each more than 50 storeys high – will be built on Hunter Street,serving as ground-level entrances to the station. Pedestrian tunnels from the station to Wynyard and Martin Place stations will also be built.
The station,which will handle thousands of commuters every hour when it opens in 2030,will be a catalyst for a major renewal of public space in the area around Hunter Street.
The latest proposals come as the council presses ahead with a more advanced plan toextend the pedestrianised section of George Street northwards,resulting in a stretch of the well-known strip from Chinatown all the way to near Circular Quay being closed to traffic.
City of Sydney Lord Mayor Clover Moore said construction of new metro train stations under Hunter Street andMartin Place,as well as several large planning proposals for buildings,were rapidly changing the northern part of the CBD.