Woolloomooloo revs-up over car hoons

Car hoons that once harassed The Rocks are now causing havoc in Woolloomooloo, residents say.

People living in Dowling and Nicolson Street are complaining of late night speeding and car rallying, which has soared since parts of Hickson Road and George Street in The Rocks were closed off late at night in August last year.

‘It’s been escalating over time and the police have advised us that it’s the same activity that was going down on Hickson Road ‘ except it’s kind of migrated to over this way,’ said Dowling Street resident Sarah Fina.

A gun has also been brandished, and residents are fearful to confront the culprits after a Telstra barricade was thrown through the glass foyer-doors of an apartment building.

‘This is not insignificant,’ Fina said. ‘This is not two cars driving up and down the street at two ‘o’ clock in the morning and making a little bit of noise.

‘What was happening on Hickson Road has just migrated. There’s enormous numbers of cars.’

Police are being called every weekend, Fina said. But Kings Cross Police crime manager Donna Murphy said she was unaware of any such activity in those areas, instead citing similar problems on Macleay Street in Potts Point.

A Sydney City spokesperson said The Department of Environment and Climate Change and Police had exclusive responsibility to stop, test and infringe noisy vehicles.

But the City was planning traffic calming measures in Woolloomooloo, including speed humps on Nicolson Street and a roundabout on Calper Wharf Road, said the spokesperson.

The road closures in The Rocks were backed up by high-visibility policing and speed bumps were installed on Hickson Road.

NSW Police also continues to run Operation Taipan across Sydney, in which more than 300 vehicles were confiscated last year.

by Angus Thompson