Mega Lot News: Five century-old Mosman cottages to make way for $72 million apartment tower.McDougall St road closures begin as Jacaranda crowds descend on Kirribilli.
Jacaranda season on the lower north shore attracts thousands of visitors to Kirribilli and surrounding streets. Image: AAP/Joel Carrett.
By ANNA USHER
Jacaranda lovers heading to Kirribilli will find McDougall St road closures in place from Saturday, with North Sydney Council removing car access every weekend for about six weeks.
From October 31, McDougall St between Clark Rd and Willoughby St, along with sections of Hipwood Street extending up to 50 metres from McDougall.
McDougall St, Kirribilli will be closed to traffic for six weekends, starting this Saturday. Image: AAP/Joel Carrett.
The changes will be in force every Saturday and Sunday from 7am to 7pm.
Traffic controllers will be stationed at checkpoints, Council says, with residents permitted inside the closure area after providing a photo ID that confirms their address.
“All residents are asked to give way to pedestrians and slow down to 10km/h while the Jacarandas are flowering for the safety of pedestrians on the road,” a spokesperson said.
Council says the closures are “to ensure pedestrian safety during periods of high visitation”. Image: AAP/Joel Carrett.
Council says the closures are “to ensure pedestrian safety during periods of high visitation” and are triggered by crowd size, not by blooming trees.
“While Council organises the road closures, this is not a formal Council-run event,” Council said.
McDougall St has drawn the crowds for years, and Mosman Collective called it “Sydney’s most famous Jacaranda grove” in our 2021 guide to the best jacaranda streets on the lower north shore.
Who can drive in
Visitor parking permits cannot be used inside the closure, but they are still valid in the surrounding streets.
Taxis and Ubers only get in if the resident is in the car at the time of entry and shows photo ID with a McDougall St, Hipwood St or Bradly Ave address, and residents must walk out of the closure area to be picked up.
Residents who live inside the closure area can gain car access to the impacted streets with a photo ID. Image: AAP/Joel Carrett.
Weekend Airbnb guests and other short-term renters will get no vehicle access during closure hours – and can only drive in before 7am or after 7pm.
Hipwood St and Bradly Ave residents can enter via Clark Rd under the guidance of a traffic controller, but only to return home, because of the one-way system on Hipwood St.
Last year the weekend closures began on 25 October, and council reopened the street from Saturday 29 November.
Council says the blooming season typically runs from mid-October through December.
Got a favourite jacaranda street we have missed in Mosman, North Sydney, Neutral Bay or Willoughby? Send your best shot to Anna at [email protected].
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