While most Perth commuters associate traffic jams with weekday morning drives to work, new data reveals that weekend travel can be just as frustrating. From beach trips to shopping runs and children's sports, Saturday and Sunday bring their own unique traffic hotspots across the city.
Main Roads manager of real time traffic operations John Venables said weekends are incredibly difficult to predict. North of the river, summer beach traffic is concentrated around Cottesloe, City Beach, and Scarborough. On West Coast Drive between Sorrento and Trigg, weekend morning travel can take up to eight minutes longer than weekdays, while Marine Parade in Cottesloe peaks on Sunday mornings.
Shopping centres also cause major delays. The Cedric Street Mitchell Freeway offramp near Ikea and Innaloo, roads near Morley Galleria, and Scarborough Beach Road between Scarborough and Glendalough see significant congestion. At midday on Saturday, travel on Scarborough Beach Road can be six minutes longer than weekdays. Osborne Park also intensifies as shoppers flock to its retail hub.
Sporting events add to the weekend traffic. Selby Street in Jolimont becomes busy mid-morning Saturday due to the Matthews Netball Centre. Mr Venables noted that weekend peaks start later in the day, with parents taking kids to sports and shopping centres getting busier, especially leading up to Christmas.
East of the city, traffic centres around shopping precincts. Albany Highway in Cannington and High Road in Riverton are bustling on Saturdays, while Great Eastern Highway in Midland is busy at similar times. South of the city, traffic is heaviest near shopping areas and inner-Fremantle, but the Kwinana Freeway between Rowley Road and Farrington Road is notoriously congested at midday on weekends, with travel taking up to 28 minutes—double the weekday average. Main Roads expects this to improve next year after road widening is completed.
On Canning Highway from the Kwinana Freeway to Fremantle at midday on Saturday, travel can be four minutes longer than weekdays. Leach Highway around the Myaree shopping precinct is also heavy at the same time. Mr Venables highlighted that better technology now helps monitor traffic, but past Christmases saw surprises from shopping centre congestion.
