There is big change under way in Sydney's golden mile. All the way down the strip in Sydney's Kings Cross, shops that once housed liquor, fast food, sex and convenience have been plastered with For Lease signs.

Fairfax Media counted 35 shops up for rent on the 300-metre strip. Over the past decade, Kings Cross has relied on late-night foot traffic down Darlinghurst Road to keep its institutions thriving.

Pedestrian traffic is down 84 per cent compared with 2012 levels, according to a City of Sydney submission to a NSW Legislative Assembly inquiry into alcohol violence. Its night economy is struggling and its day economy is yet to attract major trade.

"It's not what it used to be, trade has died," said a bartender at one of the largest venues in the area, who asked not to be named. "We're all worried about losing our jobs."