"This one was really smart. It waited for all the cars to go and then it crossed Victoria Road," Ms Simpson said.

"It just knew. I was amazed."

Others share her concerns, having seen the animals in their own areas.

Warren Bromfield and his girlfriend were out for a walk in Gladesville when they spotted one brazen fox, standing in someone's front yard.

"It's amazing to see that even people in Woolwich and Hunters Hill, they've all got them in their front yards some mornings," Ms Simpson said.

"Where are the parks big enough to house them all?"

City of Ryde council told the Herald that it has an ongoing program to control fox populations, but its efforts against urban foxes are constrained because of legal restrictions.

Currently, control methods are restricted for use only within bushland and natural environments due to licensing controls which cannot be used within private lands. The problem isn't made any easier by the accessibility of food in the city.

"These sources can include garbage bins and food found within private land," a council spokesman said.

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Residents' concerns come just months after seven-month-old Raeya Wyatt was taken to a hospital in England after being attacked by a fox while she sat in her bouncer at home.

It is believed the animal snuck in through the open back door of the residence before it bit her, causing wounds to her foot and part of her finger to be severed.

England's RSPCA was contacted over the incident but did not remove the animal.

According to the best available estimates, fox density in urban areas is about 10 per square kilometre.

The City of Ryde encourages anyone who sees a fox in the Ryde area to contact the council so staff can take appropriate action.