When Warren Burns and James Bradey started Wilhelmina's bar in Darling Street in Balmain 10 months ago, they knew the inner-west suburb was not the thriving urban hub it had once been.

But in an atmosphere of dwindling foot traffic and declining retail revenue the business owners – who have enjoyed successes with Grandma's in the CBD and the Wild Rover in Surry Hills – are having to attempt to draw people not just to their business, but to the neighbourhood as a whole.

"We love the area, it's got a community feel, but since opening we've been disappointed with the lack of foot traffic, the lack of trade and the lack of business initiatives in the area," said Mr Burns.

This high street's tale of urban change is, in some respects, little different from that of hundreds of retail hubs throughout Australia.

Once-busy shopping strips are now cemeteries of "For Lease" signs, victims of a potent mix of high rents, the pull of convenient mega malls, lack of cheap street parking and the force of internet shopping.

What is emerging in Sydney is a grab-bag of initiatives that communities are cobbling together to try to arrest the decline. And nowhere is the effort more concentrated than in historic Darling Street.

"Rather than sit back and not do anything about it, we drew people together," said Mr Burns, who with his partner has started the Balmain Community Action Group. "I guess it's about trying to have a voice and not relying on council to change things."

Several factors compound the situation in Balmain and Rozelle. Changing demographics mean young families with large mortgages have little cash to burn and fortunes have been affected by the aftermath of Rozelle's September 4 gas explosion, which killed three residents and was followed by a swell of community and council support for the Rozelle part of the high street. The unforeseen consequence of the tragedy was, say locals, the drain of attention and retail dollars from the eastern, Balmain end of Darling Street.

Kate Moriarty, of Stem boutique, said the explosion brought about a 40 per cent drop in business because of Darling Street being closed while investigations were under way.

"It was devastating for business," she explained. Many small businesses have not bounced back.

In Darling Street, from its Montague Street intersection east to Colgate Avenue, Fairfax Media counted 15 closed shop fronts among the road's 155 retail, dining and on-street business spaces. While numbers change from week to week, a dozen or so are occupied by pop-up shops and others are in the throes of closing down. Well-known local names in the area, including Ralph's Deli and Bloomsbury florist shop, have closed, as have at least three restaurants in recent weeks.

Leichhardt mayor Rochelle Porteous said the area was "challenged" for several reasons but the council is pouring almost $500,000 into initiatives to boost local business. The council this week announced new incentives to boost passing trade and dining business in the ailing strip including waiving fees for applications for footpath dining and advertising, such as A-frame boards. The trial will begin on October 1.

Ms Moriarty says it's an initiative that has missed the mark.

"We're trying to look like a high-end boutique strip and not like a flea market," she said, adding that she worries "Band-Aid" solutions will not work for the area".

In March 2013, Leichhardt council capitulated to demands for more accessible parking by giving 30 minutes of free parking to shoppers.

Nettie Pentecost, of fashion boutique and local stalwart Strelitzia, says the small win did little to help the high-end store in which she has worked for almost 20 years. Even with metre-high "70 per cent off" signs in its windows, the shop is often empty.

"We would have been packed a few years ago," she said. "You can't keep making excuses: it's the end of the financial year, it's too hot, it's too cold, it's the election."

The "Balmain brand", whereby the neighbourhood offered something a little different from the mainstream, is, she suggested, being eroded.

Yet the strip is perhaps better off than it was.

"There was a mass exodus three to five years ago. We counted 30 free spaces three years ago," said Ms Moriarty. "In 10 years, I've had four or five neighbours." She said rents – with a median of about $3000 a week for an average-sized shop space – were largely to blame for the street's woes.

She says those who are surviving well are "doing it well", and are "prepared to embrace changes and the impact technology is having on small strips".

On Thursday, the council, the local Chamber of Commerce and Sydney Ports met to address funding of a bus that would carry White Bay cruise terminal foot-passengers to Darling Street's shops and eating spots.

Residents have campaigned against the $57 million terminal development since 2014, pointing to its impact on environmental pollution levels in the area. But those same visiting ships, some of which dock for four days and carry 1800 passengers, may be key to the area's retail salvation.

"There should be benefits that come back to local businesses," mayor Porteous said of White Bay terminal. "Promotion of businesses and the area would have to happen before people even got off ships."

The fact that the community is "generous and supports itself from within" is, according to Ms Moriarty, one of the peninsula's biggest assets.

Like Mr Burns and Mr Bradey, Maureen Thornett, manager of the Royal Oak Hotel in nearby College Street, agrees. She said the area's changing demographic means the strip is a "bit of ghost town by day" – a few notable exceptions are active wear and beauty brands, which are said to be doing swift trade – but she sees a bright future for the locale.

"It's a competitive world. We've all got to fight for our spot in the sun," she said. "I'm confident that we've been through the bad times and we will come through it."