State parliament was closed, the Opera House was evacuated, Martin Place underground station was sealed off and Sydney Hospital was told not to take patients. The gates of schools within a 1km radius of the CBD were locked.

Media and onlookers gather in Martin Place / Picture: Cameron Richardson Source: News Corp Australia

Premier Mike Baird’s office, and those of his ministers, were put on high alert and all CBD branches of the four big banks closed their doors.

The State Library in Macquarie St was evacuated and NSW government offices, including the education department and the Supreme Court building, went into lockdown.

Jewish schools across Sydney also went into lockdown.

The Opera House cancelled performances by the Australian Ballet, the Sydney Theatre Company and by singer Damon Albarn “in light of the situation in the CBD today” and “to minimise pressure on transport networks”.

Evacuees in Hyde Park / Picture: AAP Source: Supplied

The CBD in lockdown after the siege began / Picture: Cameron Richardson. Source: News Corp Australia

Armed police patrolled the city in response to the siege / Picture: Getty Images Source: Getty Images

Office workers in some of the country’s largest organisations including Westpac and Macquarie Bank, with buildings close to the Lindt Cafe, were evacuated.

The nearby US consulate was closed and the NSW Art Gallery shut for several hours.

Last night commuters were battling heavy traffic out of the city along the Western and Eastern distributors, the Anzac Bridge, the Sydney Harbour Bridge and the Sydney Harbour Tunnel.

Traffic in the city was close to gridlock after police cordoned off dozens of streets in a massive section of the CBD. Streets were closed between George St and Macquarie St from Park St and Circular Quay.

A woman cries on the steps of the Supreme Court on the corner of King and Elizabeth Sts near the siege site / Picture: Cameron Richardson Source: News Corp Australia

Throughout the day, exits from the Bridge via the Cahill Expressway, York St and Harbour St were closed by police with motorists diverted from the city centre along the Western Distributor towards Chinatown and Darling Harbour, or through the Sydney Harbour Tunnel.

Hundreds of buses were prevented from entering the CBD, either terminating at Railway Square, Hyde Park or North Sydney.

Earlier in the day Police Commissioner Andrew Scipione said: “Transport arrangements are in place so people can leave the city.’’

Commuters had to cope with altered bus routes and changes to rail timetables. Marshalls were drafted in to advise bus commuters. All train lines and stations operated as normal, except for the Eastern Suburbs Line, where trains did not stop at Martin Place.

Air space over the CBD was closed except for police aircraft and police-operated drones.

Source: DailyTelegraph