Concrete islands in and around Darby Street will be removed and new traffic calming measures installed after feedback on the street's 30km/h zone.
City of Newcastle approved the changes in the Cooks Hill street on August 22 after 46 submissions were made to the council.
It comes after the 30km/h zone and extended footpaths for outdoor dining were introduced as part of the Streets as Shared Spaces trial in 2022. The council voted to make the changes permanent in March 2023.
The concrete islands on Queen Street and just north of Queen Street will be removed. The entry to the 30km/h zone will be moved south in front of Darby Street Automotive, "with tactile pavement treatment and concrete or landscaped islands".
There will be no loss of parking as a result of those changes.
At the other end of Darby Street, the concrete islands on Bull Street will be removed and replaced with concrete or landscaped islands closer to Darby Street. The speed bump in front of Pure Performance will be upgraded to a raised threshold to reduce noise. The southern entry to the 30km/h zone will also be "upgraded with tactile pavement treatment and widened landscaped islands" to slow vehicles down before the speed bumps.
Those changes will create an extra parking space.
The council will also investigate asking Transport for NSW to install speed cameras after reports of speeding on the street, and will look at expanding the 30km/h zone as part of future public domain works.
Several councillors mentioned that while the changes were designed to improve street sharing between cars, bikes and pedestrians, there were still concerns about cyclist safety.
The council said the 30km/h zone was designed for cyclists to "command the lane" rather than riding next to parked cars where there is a risk of being hit by a car door opening.
"There's a lot of people who wouldn't feel safe on a bike to try to compete for space with a vehicle," Labor councillor Deahnna Richardson said.
"That's I think feedback that we should really consider going forward around how we implement those way-findings so that we can encourage cyclists down to Corlette Street."
Lord mayor Nuatali Nelmes asked the council's cycling committee to review the changes.
"From personal experience, I have to tell you that claiming the lane is not very easy and I think it's dangerous," she said.
"I just don't think it's particularly safe to expect cyclists to try and claim the lane in that particular area.
"So whether it's some feedback around wayfinding or different options - I'm not sure what they could be, but I think claiming the lane is not for the faint-hearted if you are cycling."
