On 27 September I walked the Parramatta Road from Sydney to Parramatta because it is one of Sydney’s oldest roads built by the British and was one of the first highways built in Australia. It is a road notorious for traffic congestion, abandoned shopfronts and having the largest number of car dealerships on it. The Parramatta Road is a manifestation of our emphasis on the use of the car as a form of transport. Its abandoned shopfronts speak of a time when more people were on foot and able to visit these shops. I walked this road for its history and to investigate the contemporary conditions of this road for the pedestrian. It was a dreadful walk! For most of the time I was the only one on the footpath. When I wasn’t feeling irritable because of the relentless traffic I laughed at the absurdity of walking this road.