West Coast Drive, Perth
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West Coast Drive | |
General direction | South-North |
From | Trigg Beach |
via | North Beach, Watermans Bay, Marmion, Sorrento |
To | Hepburn Avenue, Hillarys |
Established | 1930s |
Major Junctions | Karrinyup Road, North Beach Road, Beach Road |
West Coast Drive is a scenic north-south route along the Indian Ocean in the northern suburbs of Perth, Western Australia. During the summer its entire length, which is mostly a single-carriageway road with one lane in each direction and many curves, is served by Transperth bus routes ferrying passengers between the beaches, including Mettams Pool at Trigg, Watermans Beach, Marmion Beach and Sorrento Beach. In recent years, two- and three-storey houses, often with wide front windows and balconies, have been constructed along the east side of the road.
The road was initially a street which formed part of North Beach, which from the 1920s onwards was a coastal village which served as a holiday destination for Perth residents. During the Great Depression a tent city was located at the North Beach Road intersection. The road had to navigate around the original Hamersley family residence at Beachton Street, but this was demolished in 1961 under Town Planning Scheme No.14 which was drafted in 1959 by the Shire of Perth in order that the road could be straightened. In 1967, the road was extended north to the newly-built Sacred Heart College in Sorrento.
Prior to 1985, West Coast Drive was part of West Coast Highway and connected through to Scarborough. However, the demands of massive urban growth in the northern suburbs necessitated the extension of Marmion Avenue to Scarborough. West Coast Drive was cut off in Trigg and southbound traffic directed onto Karrinyup Road.