I moved to Sydney in 2014, and since then have lived in and around the Inner West, predominantly Petersham and Summer Hill. There is never a week that goes by that I do not need to traverse Parramatta Road, past the faded signage of stores that no longer exist or the many tulle-filled window displays of bridal dress shops, all while breathing in the smell of hot tar and rubber. A previous Mayor deemed the road a “varicose vein” and a “scar on Sydney”. Yet despite the call for the road to be “revitalised”, it remains an expensive nightmare for the Councils it passes through. Most plans of action don’t amount to much, and so the scar remains.