Sydney restaurant wins war on blinding streetlights

Sydney restaurant Lady Chu has won its year-long war on “blinding” streetlights, with the City of Sydney cutting the glare outside the venue by half.

Independent testing confirmed what owner Naji Chu had been saying for 12 months: the lights were far too bright for business.

Relieved to finally focus on running her business, Naji says the street’s atmosphere has completely transformed just in time for the long weekend.

Watch the full story in the video player above.

Statement from a City of Sydney spokesperson

Following the City of Sydney’s efforts to make outdoor dining free and simple during the Covid pandemic, over 1000 businesses have spilled out onto public footpaths and roads.

An estimated 16,000 square metres of new space has been gifted to these businesses. It is a massive, transformational program that was so successful it was adopted and rolled out beyond the City by the NSW Government.

We love the life outdoor dining has brought to our streets, and we want it to stay, which is why the City has waived all fees permanently, at a cost of around $25 million to date.

We recently undertook a comprehensive update of the guidelines to make sure we are best supporting businesses while maintaining fair access to public land for the rest of the community.

Outdoor dining spaces exist on all kinds of streets, including high traffic areas and commercial zones with high walking or cycling activity that national standards require we light at a brighter level than quiet residential streets.

The City of Sydney must ensure street lighting complies with these Australian Standards to support public safety for pedestrians and road users.

The City of Sydney does not set these standards, but if we don’t meet them, we can be held liable in the event of an incident.

In November 2025, responding to complaints on behalf of local businesses, the City of Sydney dimmed lights while still complying with the required lighting standard.

Roslyn Street is a busy local street with several restaurants and provides a direct route for people walking to Darlinghurst Road. It requires a higher lighting level than residential streets.

The community also expects to feel safe with well-lit connecting routes.

As part of our ongoing work to ensure the outdoor dining program is successful, Council committed to reviewing the lighting conditions experienced by these businesses.

This will be considered alongside the City’s planned four-year lighting optimisation program, which is taking place across the network.

An independent expert review of the street lighting in Roslyn Street identified some opportunities to further reduce light levels, while still meeting Australian standards, and we are pleased that we have been able to do so.

Lady Chu has approval to use 53m2 of public footpath free of charge.

That amount of space generally provides seating for around 70 patrons.

While the business makes use of this footpath for outdoor dining, Roslyn Street is not primarily a restaurant or a private courtyard.

It is still a footpath, adjacent to a road, and its safe and accessible use by pedestrians and motorists needs to be maintained.

Individual street light analysis is costly and time-consuming.

It is not possible for the City to conduct them regularly, but we were able to commission an expert review of lighting on Roslyn Street as part of our broader lighting optimisation program.