The subject of a fierce battle between rival community groups, the closure is about to be reviewed by the Roads and Traffic Authority because it has been in place for six months today.

The dispute spilled over into Monday night's City of Sydney council meeting, with the Lord Mayor, Clover Moore, questioned repeatedly about her support for the closure.

Bourke Street was closed at two points as part of the Cross City Tunnel traffic changes. On the north side of William Street, a half-road closure bars motorists from driving to Woolloomooloo, forcing them instead into the Eastern Distributor; while on the south side of William Street, access to and from Bourke Street is blocked completely.

In its report released yesterday, the joint select committee on the tunnel called for the street to be reopened while the RTA held its review, which it said should consider the wide variety of opinions. "The committee regrets and is disappointed at the degree of animosity evidenced by community groups with opposing views on the status of Bourke Street, and notes that it may severely impact on the success of consultation."

Action City East, which represents four resident and business groups in Woolloomooloo and Darlinghurst, wants the road immediately reopened for six months to allow the RTA and the council to conduct a traffic study.

It has gathered 2800 signatures calling for the closure to be reversed, and has the support of many residents of the nearby Horizon apartment block who complain they cannot easily access the Eastern Distributor now.

Jo Holder, a co-convenor of the group, says the closure has hurt businesses near Bourke Street, made it hard for residents to get to their homes and caused traffic chaos in surrounding streets. "What they are doing is effectively putting Berlin walls around an essential service area for the City of Sydney," Ms Holder said.

But the rival East Sydney Alliance, which is closer to Cr Moore and also represents a range of community groups including SCEGGS in Bourke Street, says Action City East's agenda is to ensure street prostitution remains in the area.

Its convenor, Gundo Frenda, said the road closure blocked one entry point for kerb crawlers, helping to eliminate street crime and making it safer for residents.

The closure also promoted a "village atmosphere" in East Sydney, made it safer for parents to pick up and drop off students at SCEGGS and helped create a pedestrian-friendly boulevard on William Street.

"This is supposed to be a heritage conservation village … we shouldn't have all our roads open as a rat-run," Mr Frenda said.