The speed limit in a large part of the CBD will be lowered to 40km/h in a move aimed at reducing the number of pedestrian deaths in the city.

NSW Roads Minister Duncan Gay said the new limit, a 10km/h decrease on the current 50km/h, will be introduced by the end of the year in an area reaching from Circular Quay to Hay Street, in between Castlereagh and Pitt streets and Kent Street.

Between 2008 and 2014 seven pedestrians were killed in the CBD, including three this year. Six people died in the area designated as the new 40km/h zone.

The Pedestrian Council of Australia congratulated the state government on the decision.