Stop the MacDonald Street rat run – Let’s have an Ashmore Village Square instead

A new road between MacDonald St and Mitchell Rd would cause traffic to flood into Erskineville and Newtown’s quiet residential streets. Please support our campaign for a public square instead.

Coronation Property and the City of Sydney are planning to change MacDonald St from a quiet residential street into a major through road between Euston Rd/WestConnex and King St/Erskineville Rd.

This new road is not needed for property access. There is already car access to all existing and planned buildings in the Ashmore Estate. The road’s main effect would be to make it easier for more traffic to cut through the neighbourhood.

That would mean more traffic on residential streets such as Bray St, Concord St, Eve St, Fox Ave, Foundry Ln, George St, Hadfields St, Knight St, MacDonald St, Munni St, Prospect St, Rochford St, St John St, Union St, and Victoria St. The road would also attract more traffic onto existing rat runs, including Maddox St and Coulson St.

Traffic calming won’t stop the through traffic. Navigation apps will send traffic along these streets day and night to avoid traffic lights and congestion on the main roads. Our streets will be inundated with noisy trucks, motorcycles and cars, bringing more air pollution and traffic danger. It will be less safe for children to walk to school, leading to even more traffic.

The new road would sever the Park Sydney Village shopping centre from the future Ashmore South shops. It would impact business footfall and limit opportunities for outdoor dining.

Neither Coronation Property nor the City has assessed or modelled the impacts of this road on residential streets, safety and amenity. Community consultation has been minimal.

We’re calling for this public space to become a people‑friendly plaza – the Ashmore Village Square. A safe place to walk, shop, dine, meet and play – not a conduit for through traffic.

Please sign our letter to Lord Mayor Clover Moore asking her to pause and consult the community on the future of this public space.

 

January 2026 Update

On 12 December 2025, those who had signed our petition received a first response from LM Clover Moore: click here. It contains a number of false claims. Dr Chris Standen, a transport planning and travel behaviour expert at UNSW has fact checked these and some other misconceptions in this document: click here.

December 2025 Update

The videos from our celebration marking the 40th anniversary of the 1985 Erskineville Road Closure War are now available on Youtube: click here. This was one of the most significant resident action victories in Erskineville’s history, and resulted in a very safe and walkable streetscape in the heart of Erskineville, evidenced by the high rate of children walking to school. The many street closures implemented then didn’t cause the sky to fall in, and has left a legacy of pocket parks and popular Halloweens and Christmas light-ups. The celebration was also used to launch the Stop the MacDonald Street rat run campaign.

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