Overview
- Councillors voted to seek a report on costs, timelines, and approvals for either replacing or restoring the pedestrian bridge, leaving its fate undecided.
- A final determination is unlikely before mid-year following an extraordinary meeting that heard emotional testimony from survivors, Jewish leaders, and residents.
- A 2024 structural assessment found the two heritage-listed bridges had reached the end of their useful lives and should be replaced or restored within years.
- NSW Premier Chris Minns urged demolition to avoid a “ghoulish reminder,” while many locals and community groups pressed to retain the structure or adapt it into a memorial.
- Memorial ideas ranged from a prominent menorah and murals to gardens and mosaics, with an interim solar-lit chanukiah by artist Joel Adler currently marking the site; the council also backed sea wall art panels, a first-responders civic event, and a gallery exhibition.