12/29/2025
Should be a great night on the waterfront for New Year’s Eve
Getting to and from the Sydney Waterfront to celebrate New Year’s Eve has never been easier!
To help everyone enjoy the night and get home safely, free transit, shuttle service, and traffic management will be in place throughout the evening.
To ensure a safe New Year’s Eve celebration, the Esplanade will close to traffic at noon from Townsend Street to Dorchester Street. At 4 p.m., the closure will tighten from Townsend Street to Prince Street and remain in place until after 2 a.m. on Jan. 1. Local traffic will still be permitted, and police will be on site to assist with access and traffic flow.
Important closure details:
• From noon: Esplanade closed from Townsend Street to Dorchester Street
• From 4 p.m.: Closure tightened to Townsend Street to Prince Street
• No vehicle access from Prince Street or Wentworth Street
• Local traffic access from Falmouth St and Pitt St
Parking is available at Open Hearth Park and Centre 200 on a first-come, first-served basis. To make things easy, a free shuttle service sponsored by the NSLC will bring people directly to the 30th anniversary NYE celebration. Starting at 5:30 p.m., shuttles will pick up from Open Hearth Park, Centre 200, and the George Street and Pitt Street bus hub, transporting riders to the event site and returning them to the parking areas and bus hub throughout the evening.
NSLC is also sponsoring free Transit Cape Breton service on Wednesday, Dec. 31 starting at 5 p.m. and running until the end of regular service as part of its Safe Ride Program. An additional free special run will depart at 12:30 a.m. on Thursday, Jan. 1 from the George Street and Pitt Street bus hub.
For the special 12:30 a.m. run, some routes will be combined. Here’s the bus to take to get home safely:
Route 1 will run to Glace Bay through Reserve Mines and Dominion and will also cover Routes 3 and 4 through New Aberdeen and Caledonia/Passchendaele.
Route 5 will run to the Northside.
Route 8 will run to Whitney Pier.
Route 9 will run to New Waterford.
Routes 10, 11 and 13 will be combined through George Street, Alexandra and Ashby.
Route 12 will serve Membertou, Sydney River, Westmount and Howie Centre.
Plan ahead, take advantage of free transit and shuttle service, and make getting home safely part of your New Year’s Eve plans. What are you willing to miss?