Sydney’s George Street is set to receive a major make-over after the Sydney City Council unveiled plans to convert the ‘car-choked’ city centre into a ‘vibrant pedestrian boulevard’.

Unveiled in the Next stop: 21st century George Street exhibition, attendees were treated to a miniaturised plan of the new-look George Street.

The release of the plan coincides with the council’s announcement that it will up its contribution to the city’s light rail project to $220 million.

The City and the NSW Government are working together on the project. By August, they will have finalised a development agreement defining how much of George Street will be reserved for pedestrians only.

The City and the State have approved a Memorandum of Understanding that includes the City’s interest in expanding the pedestrian area from Liverpool to Bridge Streets along George Street and we remain optimistic that both pedestrian and traffic benefits would be enhanced by slightly extending the pedestrian area to the north and south.

The architect of converting George Street into a 21st century boulevard, leading Danish urban designer Jan Gehl, first called for removing cars from George Street seven years ago. He said the pedestrianised area should be made as big as possible because international experience showed that’s what people want.

“We’ll see a whole promenade culture in Sydney, which we already have in a number of cities around the world – most notably and remarkably in New York. There, they have closed greater parts of Broadway and turned a major traffic street into a major people street where thousands of people now sit, relax and dine, rather than shuffling around,” he said.