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Social media users divided over photo of Sydney 'dead' on a Saturday night

An image of a deserted street in Sydney's CBD on a Saturday night has sparked an online debate over what's causing the city's supposed lacklustre nightlife.

The damning image was shared to Reddit on Sunday and depicts the pedestrian area of Alfred Street outside Circular Quay train station.

"This is how vibrant Circular Quay is on a Saturday Night #dead," the image was captioned, with only one person sat on a bench visible in the whole photo.

The image prompted hundreds of users to speculate a series of reasons as to what had led to such an image, with the controversial lock-out laws a prominent feature among comments.

"Lockout laws have had a knock on effect. Restaurants are closing earlier, bars are closing down, so there’s overall less to do well before the 1.30 lockout," one user wrote.

The picture showed a deserted Circular Quay on a Saturday night with many speculating why the street was so empty. Source: Reddit/ Charlesingalls
The picture showed a deserted Circular Quay on a Saturday night with many speculating why the street was so empty. Source: Reddit/ Charlesingalls

But many suggested there was more to it than restricted entry hours, with Sydney's affordability questioned.

"Anyone else think that combined with the restrictive lockout laws, less people are just going out in general due to the ever increasing cost of living in Sydney?" another user commented.

Some even suggested the significant improvement of home entertainment such as readily available content through services such as Netflix means more and more people are content to stay at home.

Several skeptical users pointed out the area the photograph was taken has always been quiet with little foot traffic in the area at night.

"That area has always been dead at night though. The northern end of the CBD has never really had much to do outside of daytime hours," one user pointed out.

Sydney's lock-out laws have come under intense scrutiny in recent years. Source: AAP
Sydney's lock-out laws have come under intense scrutiny in recent years. Source: AAP

The state of Sydney's nightlife has been widely publicised in recent years and has been the subject of a parliamentary inquiry since November with nearly 400 written submissions highlighting the extensive hoops establishments have to jump through to adhere to licensing laws.

The inquiry revealed "no dancing”, “no ukuleles” and “no mirror balls” were some of the more bizarre rules some establishments faced across the city.

City of Sydney councillor Jess Scully told News Corp significant funds were now being funnelled into the city’s night-life in an attempt to revive its dwindling popularity among revellers.

“It's probably not the best place to hang out and party right now,” she said.

“But when the light rail comes in, there will be more pedestrians and fewer buses it will have a totally different character.”

She said $360,000 of grants has been given to businesses looking to develop their late night activities as well as venues looking to improve the experience of audience and artists. She also said the City was pushing for 24-hour transport across the city.