Oxford Street – Bringing It Back

July 2024

Printed in: The Fifth Estate
Photo: Mark Merton

Between 8am and 8pm on any given weekday, the legendary 333 bus to Bondi departs Circular Quay one hundred and ten times. Returning to the city, the same amount of buses leave from Bondi. Each one of these journeys travels up or travels down Oxford Street, stopping along it. 

Busy during the day, at peak hour – its standing room only on the 333 by the time it reaches Oxford Street. Along with locals like me catching the bus home, it's often busy with tourists. The 333 is just one of twelve different bus routes traversing Oxford Street. 

However, for the likely thousands of people criss-crossing Oxford Street daily – very few actually get off the bus and engage with it. Any other global city business or night-time precinct would yearn for this type of handed-to-you-on-a-platter daily patronage. Oxford Street though, for the most part, seems unable to tap into it. 

In the evenings especially, these buses are full of young professionals with disposable incomes finishing work. Rather than a night on the couch watching Netflix, many want a place to socialise on the way home. To meet friends face-to-face and take in some culture. Yet, for whatever reason – Oxford Street is not doing it for them. 

This is tough for local businesses. Less engagement with the precinct impacts bottom lines. More incentive to get off the buses would drive an increase in foot traffic. This would benefit local businesses of all types. They could put their best foot forward more often – but many opportunities are being missed.

Of course, for one night of the year (and the wonderful weeks around it) Oxford Street truly shines. When Mardi Gras arrives, this famous strip illuminates full-beam into life. However – once all the speckles of sparkle have finally been cleaned up – it’s the other fifty weeks of the year where that once-ebullient lustre has dissipated. 

Thankfully, the fundamentals and ingredients needed to revitalise Oxford Street are already there. Taylor Square is the keystone to the renewal needed. Especially the piazza on the Darlinghurst side. Designed as public space in an area of high-density living – most evenings it sits unenjoyed and dimly lit. Locals walk through it on their way to somewhere else. No one engages with the space because there is nothing to engage with. 

In any European city of note, this square would be embraced as a place to congregate. Tables and chairs would cater to people eating, sipping, chatting, smiling and people watching. The din generated would not only reinject ambience and make the space feel safer – it would also entice. With every single bus directly passing it, many would be inspired to get off and enjoy it themselves. 

This is a genuine opportunity and a possible vision for Oxford Street – to be Sydney’s primary weeknight hop-on-hop-off precinct. To position itself as the place to catch-up with friends on the way home. A place for a bite and a sprinkling of culture. Local businesses would benefit from such a revitalisation. The infrastructure is already there.  

All ideas are welcome! Superficial changes might include street light design to help establish mood. Structural changes might include the types of businesses prioritised on the high street. For example: restaurants; bars or small galleries. Tactical ideas may include little music festivals or clubbing weekends at teams of venues. 

The “Oxford Street” brand also needs consideration. Carrying deep cultural and heritage importance for Sydney’s queer community, this brand pillar needs to remain at its core. However, the brand’s evolution should be delicately explored in order to broaden its appeal to the entire community living around and traversing through it. 

Conversation over the past few years has focused on how the redevelopment of buildings close to Taylor Square will apparently unlock a new chapter. “If you build it, they will come” seems to be the mantra. But Oxford Street doesn’t need redevelopment to rediscover its soul. It just needs some brave ideas and the hustle to make them happen. 

For all of the “global city” talk employed by our leaders, there needs to be more walk to match it. Oxford Street plays a crucial role in contributing back into Sydney’s vibrancy grid. Revitalisation is not just about business. It’s about community, culture, fabric, romance and joy. A pride in the place we share with visitors peering at it from a passing bus window – and a delight for those locals interacting with it on the journey home.