The woman who redesigned the Big Apple's transport system and revamped Times Square to wide acclaim has turned her planning eye to Australia's major cities.

Former New York City transport commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan has recommended Australian cities integrate more cycle paths and bike share programs.

Speaking at Adelaide's Velo-Cities conference, Ms Sadik-Khan said streets need to be redesigned to act more like social "living rooms" rather than congested pathways.

Her new approach to footpaths revolutionised NYC, removing congestion and encouraging more people to walk.

As in many Australian cities, the introduction of a bike share system and extensive cycle path network proved controversial.

"Our streets are where we play and meet, kind of like the living rooms of New York, and so when you change something like that it can cause a stir."

The stirring sometimes got personal, she said.

"There were days where it was not fun to pick up the tabloid papers."

New York City now has a privately operated bike share program - reportedly facing financial problems - and a network of mostly separated paths that traverse and connect all five boroughs.

The bike share scheme has an annual membership and is available to tourists.

Cyclists have been encouraged to respect their fellow riders through a "Don't be a Jerk" safety campaign featuring NYC comedians, models and chefs astride two wheels.

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Leadership at the local level is where Ms Sadik-Khan sees most of the innovation in urban design taking place.

"It's interesting to see that the innovation that you see in cities like Sydney, Adelaide and Auckland and in New York City ... it's the cities that are innovating," she said.

"To a large degree national governments ... you're not finding the funding and the policy guidance ... on [that] level."

Ms Sadik-Khan is now an adviser to a national transportation association that fosters cooperative approaches to key transportation issues.

Reflecting on her role as commissioner, she said: "I wouldn't say it's a ballet in New York; there are lots of interactions. But we've worked it out and the last seven years have been the safest in New York City history. It's been a wonderful ride."

Sadik-Khan literally painted vision of a better NYC

When Ms Sadik-Khan was appointed in 2007, in then-mayor Michael Bloomberg's administration, there was plenty that bothered the fit, bike-riding New Yorker.

"Congestion bugged me, the streets seemed very dangerous and unorganised," she said.

"So making our streets more accommodating to cyclists, making our streets more accommodating for people walking, was important."

Ms Sadik-Khan said the city's transport did not take its enormous population into consideration.

"New York City was the great oxymoron. It's a great walking city but there was literally no place to sit down. You'd walk down the street and see families with kids crunched onto these fire hydrants – [it was] just really bad," she said.

"Even the signs for parking [were] really complicated."

Rather than instigating a drawn-out planning process, Ms Sadik-Khan moved quickly. She and department of transportation officials temporarily closed sections of road and car parks and marked out where a new plaza might be built.

"So we used a fast-acting approach and literally painted the city that we wanted to see. We painted curb lines, painted green as if it was grass, we threw down tables and chairs and temporary planters," she said.

"The key was to change the use of a space quickly so people could see what it looked like."

Ms Sadik-Khan did this in areas where residents and business wanted the public space. If anyone did not like it, "we could change it back".

Overhauling the 'crossroads of the world'

When she proposed closing Times Square, "there was tremendous concern about it," she said.

"Businesses were anxious, theatre-owners were worried; lots of people were sceptical."

Ms Sadik Khan kept her course. With strong support from Mr Bloomberg, she transformed Times Square in the middle of his re-election campaign.

At a meeting of the city's executive, she said the mayor told her: "I don't ask my commissioners to do the right thing according to the political calendar; I ask my commissioners to do the right thing, period.

"And he said, 'let's do it', and he shook my hand an awful lot."

Building streets that make it easier to get around and make the city more attractive for businesses and residents is a key economic-development strategy for New York City.

At the end of their respective terms, in December last year, Ms Sadik-Khan and Mr Bloomberg cut the ribbon on the finished Times Square project.

"It's gorgeous and it is really worthy of its name: the crossroads of the world," she said.

Ms Sadik Khan points to the data to show the value of the renovation: retail rents near Times Square have tripled, six major retailers have opened, and Times Square is now rated as one of the top 10 retail locations on the planet for the first time ever.

Sydney will soon have its own Times Square moment with plans approved for the closure of George St for light rail and a large plaza in front of Sydney's Town Hall.