Parramatta Road
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Parramatta Road is the major historical east-west artery of metropolitan
Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...
,
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, Australia, connecting the
Sydney CBD The Sydney central business district (CBD) is the historical and main Central business district, commercial centre of Sydney. The CBD is Sydney's city centre, or Sydney City, and the two terms are used interchangeably. Colloquially, the CBD or ...
with
Parramatta Parramatta (; ) is a suburb (Australia), suburb and major commercial centre in Greater Western Sydney. Parramatta is located approximately west of the Sydney central business district, Sydney CBD, on the banks of the Parramatta River. It is co ...
. It is the easternmost part of the
Great Western Highway Great Western Highway is a state highway in New South Wales, Australia. From east to west, the highway links Sydney with Bathurst, New South Wales, Bathurst, on the state's Central Tablelands. The highway also has local road names between the ...
. Since the 1990s its role has been augmented by the City West Link and
M4 Motorway The M4, originally the London-South Wales Motorway, is the third longest motorway in the United Kingdom, running from west London to southwest Wales. The English section to the Severn Bridge was constructed between 1961 and 1971; the Welsh ele ...
. The road begins in the east as a continuation of George Street, which becomes Broadway west of Harris Street, and Parramatta Road west of the
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junction, and ends at the junction with Church Street in Parramatta. Its distance is dominated by caryards and small marginally-viable shops. At the same time, however, it has over 100 abandoned and derelict stores. Owing to this and its abrasively noisy traffic, it has rarely been considered beautiful. Opened in 1811, it is one of Sydney's oldest roads and Australia's first road between two cities (before Sydney and Parramatta coalesced). As at 2015, over three million commuters every year drove Parramatta Road. The road is the hub of Sydney's motor dealership industry - with 67% of the adjacent land used for motor retailing and services.


History


1790s–1800s: Development

British settlement in
Parramatta Parramatta (; ) is a suburb (Australia), suburb and major commercial centre in Greater Western Sydney. Parramatta is located approximately west of the Sydney central business district, Sydney CBD, on the banks of the Parramatta River. It is co ...
began in the same year (1788) as it did in Sydney. The
Parramatta River The Parramatta River is an intermediate tide-dominated, Ria, drowned valley estuary located in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. With an average Altitude, height, and depth, depth of , the Parramatta River is the main tributary of Sydney Harbour ...
was used as navigation between them. Sometime between 1789 and 1791 an overland track was made to provide an official land route between the two settlements. Parramatta Road dates to the 1792 formation of a route linking Sydney to the settlement of Parramatta. This route was formalised under the direction of Surveyor–General
Augustus Alt Augustus Theodore Henry Alt (1731 – 9 January 1815) was a British soldier and Australia's first Surveyor General of New South Wales, Surveyor-General. Early life Augustus Theodore Harman Alt was born to father Jost Heinrich (anglicised to Just ...
in 1797. Parramatta Road became one of the colony's most important early roads, and for many years remained one of Sydney's principal thoroughfares. The early road was a poorly built and poorly maintained track through bush. In 1794, the governor of the colony reported that he had caused a very good road to be made, but there is no evidence that any bridges were built over the streams. The road subsequently deteriorated and on 9 June 1805 the ''Sydney Gazette'' reported that the road was impassable as the result of heavy rain. Attempts to improve the road continued over the years.


1810–1815

By 1811, Parramatta Road had officially opened to traffic and was financed during a large portion of the 19th century by a toll, with toll booths located at what now is
Sydney University The University of Sydney (USYD) is a public university, public research university in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in both Australia and Oceania. One of Australia's six sandstone universities, it was one of the ...
and the Duck River.
Governor Macquarie Major General Lachlan Macquarie, CB (; ; 31 January 1762 – 1 July 1824) was a British Army officer and colonial administrator from Scotland. Macquarie served as the fifth Governor of New South Wales from 1810 to 1821, and had a leading role ...
called tenders for the repair of the road, raised a three
shilling The shilling is a historical coin, and the name of a unit of modern currency, currencies formerly used in the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, other British Commonwealth countries and Ireland, where they were generally equivalent to 1 ...
per gallon levy on spirits and levied a toll to pay for the work. The road was to be 10 metres wide. This turnpike road was opened on 10 April 1811. The toll barriers were at the present Railway Square and at Becket's Creek (near Parramatta). In 1814, a stage cart service was established along Parramatta Road. Fares were 10 shillings for passengers and 3 pence for letters. Heavy rain again nearly destroyed this road, so in 1817 it was announced that all tree-stumps would be removed and the road paved with stone which would be covered with earth and gravel. This improvement was announced as finished on 15 January 1815. In 1815 the "profit" from the Sydney toll reached £465. The growth of Sydney caused the toll barrier to be moved to Grose Farm (present University of Sydney) in April 1836. In 1839 it was moved further west to Annandale.


1820s–1880s

The colony's first stage coach (valued at £300) was imported in 1821 but did not begin regular service until 1823. The stage left the city at 7:00 am, arrived in Parramatta at 9:30 am and left Parramatta for the return journey at 4:00 pm. Inside passengers were charged six shillings. Hazards on the road included the threat of attacks by Indigenous people and bushrangers. Hotels and settlements sprang up along the road to serve coaching traffic. The importance of the road declined with the advent of the Sydney-Parramatta railway in 1855. In 1883, a steam tram line opened along Parramatta Road as far as Annandale, and was extended onward to Norton Street in 1884, where it turned to run along Norton Street to Short Street. In the 1800s, the government acquired a strip of land from Ashfield to Burwood from the Rosebank Estate, owned by the Sisters of the Good Samaritan, Australia's first religious congregation. Rosebank College now stands on the former Rosebank Estate, and the heritage-listed building of the private school stands adjacent to the road at Five Dock.


1900s–present: Motorisation

Sydney Municipal Council began widening the major routes into the city centre in 1911, including the construction of Broadway and the widening of the cutting on Parramatta Road adjacent to Sydney University. In the 1920s, the road was sealed and tramlines were removed from the road. Sheep and cattle were still crossing Parramatta Road at
Homebush Homebush is a suburb in the Inner West of Sydney in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is located 12 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of the Municipality of Strathfield. The name o ...
as late as the 1960s. Increased traffic congestion along the road steadily made it less attractive for residential and commercial use during the 20th century. By the last quarter of the 20th century, the only active businesses on many stretches of the road were car dealerships. The decline of industry in the
Inner West The Inner West of Sydney is an area directly west of the Sydney central business district, New South Wales, Australia. The suburbs that make up the Inner West are predominantly located along the southern shore of Port Jackson (Parramatta River) ...
also drove the decline of commercial areas formerly catering to factory workers. By the end of the 20th century, proposals to revitalise Parramatta Road and make it more attractive were regularly made. One of these proposals was made in 2012, which would have widened and lowered the road below street level in a "slot" as part of the
Roads & Maritime Services A road is a thoroughfare used primarily for movement of traffic. Roads differ from streets, whose primary use is local access. They also differ from stroads, which combine the features of streets and roads. Most modern roads are paved. The wo ...
WestConnex motorway proposal. This plan was abandoned, and the WestConnex proposal was later changed to a pair of tunnels parallel to Parramatta Road and connecting to the existing M4 motorway. The new extension was known as M4 East and was eventually built between the end of the existing M4 motorway in North Strathfield and Haberfield, where it connected to the A4 road. The new tunnels opened to traffic in July 2019. The project resulted in the creation of a new entry and exit ramp on Parramatta Road in Ashfield, the narrowing of westbound traffic lanes for through-traffic to one lane at either end of the tunnel, and the demolition of a large number of houses in Ashfield and Haberfield to make way for the tunnel ramps.


Criticism

The road has been criticised by the community for its traffic
pollution Pollution is the introduction of contaminants into the natural environment that cause harm. Pollution can take the form of any substance (solid, liquid, or gas) or energy (such as radioactivity, heat, sound, or light). Pollutants, the component ...
, congestion, and for its vacant shops and rundown buildings, particularly between Leichhardt and Concord, and local government has been accused of failing to adopt policies to encourage the redevelopment and regeneration of vacant sites. A local mayor described it as a "varicose vein". A NSW Business Chamber Executive Patricia Forsythe said that the road is "one of the least attractive commercial areas of Sydney". Former NSW premier Nick Greiner thought the road looked "like
Beirut Beirut ( ; ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, just under half of Lebanon's population, which makes it the List of largest cities in the Levant region by populatio ...
on a bad day". The ''
Sydney Morning Herald ''The Sydney Morning Herald'' (''SMH'') is a daily tabloid newspaper published in Sydney, Australia, and owned by Nine Entertainment. Founded in 1831 as the ''Sydney Herald'', the ''Herald'' is the oldest continuously published newspaper in ...
'' writer Elizabeth Farrelly described it as "filthy, noisy, sclerotic and dull". On a lighter note, Tess De Quincey, an Australian performer/director said, "Every chapter of Sydney's history has been written on Parramatta Road." A Sydney Morning Herald editor said that whilst the road is "ugly in parts, drab in others, and generally unpleasant", it is still "fundamental to the economic and social viability of the greater city". Since the 1970s many buildings fronting Parramatta Road, especially those in the prime locations of the
Inner West The Inner West of Sydney is an area directly west of the Sydney central business district, New South Wales, Australia. The suburbs that make up the Inner West are predominantly located along the southern shore of Port Jackson (Parramatta River) ...
(from Newtown to
Homebush Homebush is a suburb in the Inner West of Sydney in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is located 12 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of the Municipality of Strathfield. The name o ...
), have become vacant and fallen into disrepair, with many vandalised. Previously these buildings were a major part of local life for the suburbs along Parramatta Road, providing employment, retailing and other services. The buildings with
graffiti Graffiti (singular ''graffiti'', or ''graffito'' only in graffiti archeology) is writing or drawings made on a wall or other surface, usually without permission and within public view. Graffiti ranges from simple written "monikers" to elabor ...
and broken windows provide a sight that is sought out by graffiti vandals and proficient urban photographers. Nicholas Munning, an owner of a
music store A music store or musical instrument store is a retail business that sells musical instruments and related equipment and accessories. Some music stores sell additional services, such as Music lesson, music lessons, music instrument or equipment ...
in Annandale, described the road as, "A lost cause...You can see the hodgepodge of buildings - abandoned buildings, abandoned shops - ith people thinkinglet’s just let this sit here for four years until we get council approval to knock it down and build apartments...They don’t care if it sits there vacant with broken windows and looks like shit, The problem is the whole road looks like that. So nobody is going to say, 'hey, this is a great area. I’m going to spend $x making a really classy looking shop or restaurant'.”'The shops have closed': Parramatta Road 'a lost cause', retailer says
by Garry Maddox (
Sydney Morning Herald ''The Sydney Morning Herald'' (''SMH'') is a daily tabloid newspaper published in Sydney, Australia, and owned by Nine Entertainment. Founded in 1831 as the ''Sydney Herald'', the ''Herald'' is the oldest continuously published newspaper in ...
)


Redevelopment plan

The
Government of New South Wales The Government of New South Wales, also known as the NSW Government, is the executive state government of New South Wales, Australia. The government comprises 11 portfolios, led by a ministerial department and supported by several agencies. Th ...
published the 'Parramatta Road Urban Transformation Strategy' in 2016, with a 30-year plan for redeveloping the area through planning and infrastructure investment. Among the strategy's goals are housing an additional 56,000 people in 27,000 new homes on the corridor (with minimum five percent
affordable housing Affordable housing is housing which is deemed affordable to those with a household income at or below the median, as rated by the national government or a local government by a recognized housing affordability index. Most of the literature on ...
); 50,000 workers employed in the area; and 66
hectare The hectare (; SI symbol: ha) is a non-SI metric unit of area equal to a square with 100-metre sides (1 hm2), that is, square metres (), and is primarily used in the measurement of land. There are 100 hectares in one square kilometre. ...
s of new open space is provided through
linear park A linear park is a type of park that is significantly longer than it is wide. These linear parks are strips of public land running along canals, rivers, streams, defensive walls, electrical lines, or highways and Esplanade, shorelines. Examples o ...
s and along watercourses or infrastructure. The proposed development rights are worth millions of dollars to developers but are also controversial due to the density of some of the proposals and the likely impact on an already over-congested road. As a result, many of the development proposals are controversial with local residents and are opposed by local councils. A number of the disputes between developers and councils have led to court disputes. The Inner West Council and
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, through which the road runs for much of its length, have proposed using an electric
guided bus Guided buses are buses capable of being steered by external means, usually on a Bus lane, dedicated track or roll way that excludes other traffic, permitting the maintenance of Public transport timetable, schedules even during rush hours. Unl ...
running on the centre of the road for public transport, as opposed to kerbside buses as suggested in the strategy.


Location

The highway forms the boundaries of various suburbs along the way and ends at the junction of Church Street, Parramatta, where the Great Western Highway briefly turns to the north. Parramatta Road forms the southern boundary of the following suburbs: * Ultimo *
Glebe A glebe (, also known as church furlong, rectory manor or parson's close(s)) is an area of land within an ecclesiastical parish used to support a parish priest. The land may be owned by the church, or its profits may be reserved to the church. ...
* Forest Lodge * Annandale * Leichhardt * Haberfield * Five Dock * Concord Parramatta Road forms the northern boundary of the following suburbs: * Chippendale * Camperdown *
Stanmore Stanmore is part of the London Borough of Harrow in Greater London. It is centred northwest of Charing Cross, lies on the outskirts of the London urban area and includes Stanmore Hill, one of the List of highest points in London, highest point ...
*
Lewisham Lewisham ( ) is an area of southeast London, England, south of Charing Cross. It is the principal area of the London Borough of Lewisham, and was within the Historic counties of England, historic county of Kent until 1889. It is identified in ...
* Petersham * Summer Hill * Ashfield *
Croydon Croydon is a large town in South London, England, south of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Croydon, a Districts of England, local government district of Greater London; it is one of the largest commercial districts in Greater Lond ...
* Burwood West of Concord and Burwood, Parramatta Road passes through Strathfield,
Homebush Homebush is a suburb in the Inner West of Sydney in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is located 12 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of the Municipality of Strathfield. The name o ...
, Auburn, Clyde and Granville before reaching Parramatta.


Former route numbers

Parramatta Road has many former route allocations including former National Route 32. Where and when the former route numbers were implemented are stated below. '' ChippendaleSummer Hill:'' * National Route 32 * Metroad 4 * Metroad 5 * State Route 31 * A22 '' Summer HillHaberfield:'' * National Route 32 * Metroad 4 *unallocated: '' HaberfieldNorth Strathfield:'' * National Route 32 * Metroad 4 * A4 * A44 '' North StrathfieldAuburn:'' * National Route 32 * State Route 44 * A44 '' AuburnClyde:'' * National Route 32 * State Route 44 * A44 '' ClydeGranville:'' * National Route 32 * State Route 44 * A44


References


External links


History of Parramatta Road
Office of Environment & Heritage {{Streets of Sydney Australia Streets in Sydney Transport infrastructure in Parramatta Historical roads of New South Wales Inner West Municipality of Strathfield Parramatta Road, Sydney