Opinion: Sydney needs a high line — and this forgotten harbour corridor could be it

Sydney is very good at having beautiful places that somehow feel harder to access than they should. That is why the idea of a Sydney 'high line' near Lavender Bay deserves attention.

Former MP Trent Zimmerman argued that the city should create its own version of the elevated urban park concept made famous by New York and echoed in cities such as Paris. His suggested location centres around the old railway land near Wendy Whiteley's Secret Garden, one of Sydney's most loved hidden spaces.

It is a strong idea because it does not require Sydney to invent a new identity. It asks the city to better connect what it already has.

Wendy's Secret Garden is one of those rare places that feels both public and personal. Created by Wendy Whiteley after the death of her husband, artist Brett Whiteley, it turned disused railway land into a living, breathing sanctuary. That kind of transformation is exactly what good urban planning should make possible.

Sydney does not need more concrete dressed up as community space. It needs thoughtful public places that encourage people to walk, pause and see the city differently. A harbour-linked high line could do that.

It could connect green space, history, art and public access in a way that feels genuinely Sydney. Of course, projects like this require money, planning and political patience. They also require the city to value long-term public benefit over short-term hesitation.

Sydney should be ambitious about public space. The harbour should not only be something people look at from expensive homes or restaurant tables. A Sydney high line may sound like a dream. That does not make it silly. Some of the best parts of the city started that way.