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Riverside Drive, Perth Western Australia
View from the Perth Convention Centre, 2008
General information
Type	Road
Length	3.4 km (2.1 mi)
Route number(s)	State Route 5
Major junctions
Eastern section
East end	The Causeway (State Route 5), East Perth
	Plain Street (State Route 65)
West end	Barrack Street (State Route 53)
Western section (Birdiya Drive)
North-east end	William Street (State Route 53)
	Mitchell Freeway (State Route 2)
South-west end	Mounts Bay Road (State Route 5), Perth

Riverside Drive in Perth, Western Australia, is a road on the northern side of Perth Water. It was built on reclaimed land in the 1930s, and links The Causeway to the Narrows Bridge.

Route description

Riverside Drive is part of State Route 5. It begins at the intersection of The Causeway, Adelaide Terrace, and Hay Street, which is a traffic light controlled raindrop roundabout. Riverside Drive heads west-north-west, parallel to the edge of Perth Water and the city's other arterial roads. It passes by Langley Park and Supreme Court Gardens before reaching Barrack Street and the Barrack Street Jetty. Earlier, till 26 January 2014, it continued through to William Street alongside the former site of The Esplanade, now the location of Elizabeth Quay. Ramps to the Kwinana Freeway and from the Mitchell Freeway connect to the intersection with William Street, with Riverside Drive's former western section continuing as a one-way road south-westbound, following the Swan River and passing beneath the Narrows Bridge, before ending at the Point Lewis Roundabout on Mounts Bay Road, that section now named Birdiya Drive, Noongar for elders.

History

Riverside Drive which was planned in 1903, but which was not completed until the 1930s due to the need to have reclaimed land on which to build the road.

Construction of the road in the 1930s was seen as a threat to the lightering trade on the Swan River between Perth and Fremantle.

In the early 20th century the name of the road carried beyond its current length; proposed river-side roads were mentioned for South Perth and the northern shore of the Swan River as far as Peppermint Grove.

Plans to widen were proposed in 1985 and in 1986.

Significant changes in the landscaping along Riverside Drive were made in 1999.

At times of heavy rains and the Swan River flooding, Riverside Drive has been affected seriously, in the 1930s and 1940s as well as more recently.

Section closure

Riverside Drive was closed for the Australia Day celebrations and fireworks on 26 January 2014, however unlike other roads in the area, it remained closed between Barrack Street and William Street due to the construction of Elizabeth Quay.

Several groups and individuals have previously raised concerns about the impact on the Perth road network resulting from the diversion of Riverside Drive traffic around the new Elizabeth Quay inlet. The mayors of seven surrounding local government areas issued a joint statement stressing the importance of completing certain roadworks prior to the diversion of Riverside Drive. The Graham Farmer Freeway has had additional lanes installed in the Northbridge Tunnel to encourage motorists to bypass the city. The Royal Automobile Club raised early concerns that loss of the emergency lanes might affect emergency response times. Although a tunnel, either under the inlet or as part of one of the suggested alternative schemes, has previously been dismissed, the suggestion that a tunnel might be built at some time in the future has not been totally dismissed. In January 2014 the Opposition again raised concerns that the closure would lead to further congestion, but the Metropolitan Redevelopment Authority were confident that drivers would adapt to the change. In preparation for the closure, Riverside Drive had been reduced by one lane through that section.

On 4 November 2021, the western section of Riverside Drive was formally renamed Birdiya Drive to prevent confusion around which section of Riverside Drive to follow. Birdiya means "elder" or "leader" in the Noongar language and was chosen following consultation with the City of Perth Aboriginal Elders Advisory Group.

Intersections

Riverside Drive

LGA	Location	km	mi	Destinations	Notes
Perth	Perth	0.0	0.0	Barrack Street (State Route 5) north  – Perth, Mount Lawley, Fremantle / Barrack Square exits.	No turns permitted from Riverside Drive/Barrack Street to Barrack Square. Northwestern terminus, continues north as Barrack Street (State Route 5)
		0.25	0.16	Governors Avenue	LILO junction
		0.55	0.34	Victoria Avenue
	East Perth	1.5	0.93	Plain Street (State Route 65)  – Mount Lawley, Maylands, Guildford
		2.1	1.3	The Causeway (State Route 5) southeast / Adelaide Terrace northwest - Perth City Centre, Fremantle, Victoria Park Hay Street northeast – WACA Ground.	Southeastern terminus at traffic light controlled teardrop roundabout; continues as Hay Street. Traffic exiting Hay Street can only enter The Causeway southbound, Riverside Drive can only be accessed from The Causeway northbound.
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi       Incomplete access

Birdiya Drive

LGA	Location	km	mi	Destinations	Notes
Perth	Perth	0.0	0.0	William Street (State Route 5) – Perth, Northbridge, Mount Lawley	Northern terminus at sharp bend.
		0.3	0.19	Kwinana Freeway (State Route 5)/ Elizabeth Quay bus station busway  – Rockingham, Mandurah	Southbound entry ramp only. No access from Birdiya Drive eastbound.
		0.7	0.43	Kwinana Freeway (State Route 5)  – Rockingham, Mandurah	Southbound entry ramp only. No direct access from Birdiya Drive westbound.
		1.0	0.62	Mounts Bay Road (State Route 5 westbound)  – Perth, Crawley, Claremont, Fremantle	Point Lewis Rotary. Western terminus at roundabout with peak traffic lights on Mounts Bay Road eastbound. Access to the Kwinana freeway southbound entry ramp.
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi       Incomplete access

See also

Australian Roads portal

References

1. Perth Central Business District (PDF) (Map). Cartography by Western Australian Land Information Authority. Government of Western Australia. Archived from the original (PDF) on 16 May 2013.
2. ^ "Western portion of Riverside Drive renamed Birdiya Drive to honour Noongar Elders". Government of Western Australia. Archived from the original on 25 January 2022. Retrieved 25 January 2022.
3. Seddon, George; Ravine, David, 1955- (1986), A city and its setting : images of Perth, Western Australia, Fremantle Arts Centre Press, ISBN 978-0-949206-08-4{{citation}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) – see text on page 81 regarding reclamation required and map on page 82
4. "RIVER RECLAMATION". The West Australian. Perth. 25 May 1934. p. 23. Retrieved 5 March 2012 – via National Library of Australia.
5. "RIVERSIDE DRIVE". Western Mail. Perth. 17 June 1937. p. 27. Retrieved 5 March 2012 – via National Library of Australia.
6. "RIVERSIDE DRIVE". The West Australian. Perth. 11 December 1937. p. 25. Retrieved 5 March 2012 – via National Library of Australia.
7. "RIVERSIDE DRIVE FROM PERTH TO PEPPERMINT GROVE". The West Australian. Perth. 12 June 1936. p. 27. Retrieved 5 March 2012 – via National Library of Australia.
8. Wainwright, Robert. West Australian, 19 Feb. 1986, p. 1e-g, 11c-d
9. Wainwright, Robert. West Australian, 20 Feb. 1986, p. 3a-f
10. Conservationists oppose Perth City Council's plans to widen Riverside Drive West Australian, 21 May 1986, p. 1a-d
11. Description of landscaping and lighting installed. Westscape, Vol. 1, No. 1, (1999), p. 6-7,
12. see Swan River (Western Australia)#Flood events for issue of regularity of the flooding and Scott, C. F.; Western Australia. Harbours and Rivers Branch. Coastal Investigations Section (1977), Swan River flood study : an extreme event analysis of Barrack St. tide data (1930-1976), Public Works Dept. of Western Australia, Harbours and Rivers Branch, Coastal Investigation Section, retrieved 17 April 2012
13. "SEVERE STORMS". The West Australian. Perth. 20 July 1932. p. 15. Retrieved 17 April 2012 – via National Library of Australia.
14. "FLOOD WATERS ON ESPLANADE". The West Australian. Perth. 19 June 1945. p. 3. Retrieved 17 April 2012 – via National Library of Australia.
15. "ALONG THE WATERFRONT". The West Australian. Perth. 23 June 1945. p. 8. Retrieved 17 April 2012 – via National Library of Australia.
16. "NEWS AND NOTES". The West Australian. Perth. 23 June 1945. p. 6. Retrieved 17 April 2012 – via National Library of Australia.
17. "Fine Spell Forecast As Floods Recede". The Daily News. Perth. 16 July 1946. p. 1 Edition: CITY FINAL. Retrieved 17 April 2012 – via National Library of Australia.
18. 1996 – http://webarchive.nla.gov.au/awa/20040614140000/http://pandora.nla.gov.au/pan/23604/20040615-0000/www.mediastatements.wa.gov.au/cabinet/mediast/dg96-30/lewriver.html
19. "Road Closures". Australia Day Skyworks. City of Perth. 2014. Archived from the original on 21 January 2014. Retrieved 21 January 2014.
20. "Road closures for Skyworks and beyond". RAC eNews. January 2014. Archived from the original on 21 January 2014. Retrieved 21 January 2014.
21. Submission: MRS Waterfront Amendment – CityVision. Published 19 October 2011. Retrieved 24 March 2012.
22. Traffic Chaos Archived 18 February 2012 at the Wayback Machine – thecitygatekeepers. Retrieved 24 March 2012
23. Closure of Riverside Drive Concerns City Archived 24 March 2012 at the Wayback Machine – City of South Perth. Published 6 December 2011. Retrieved 24 March 2012
24. Zaw, Yoland (2012).Councils warn of waterfront gridlock – The West Australian. Published 27 February 2012. Retrieved 24 March 2012
25. Harvey, Ben and Alex Massey (2011). Waterfront traffic woes surface – The West Australian. Published 17 February 2011. Retrieved 24 March 2012
26. Parker, Gareth and Beatrice Thomas (2011). Lib MP urges tunnel under river inlet – The West Australian. Published 10 November 2011. Retrieved 24 March 2012
27. ^ Dalzell, Stephanie (22 January 2014). "Concerns raised over congestion as Riverside Drive partially closes". Australia: ABC News. Retrieved 23 January 2014.
28. ^ Cite error: The named reference 2011UBD was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
29. ^ Cite error: The named reference GMaps was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

v t e Road routes in Western Australia
State Route 5 Stirling Highway Mounts Bay Road Birdiya Drive William Street The Esplanade Barrack Street Riverside Drive The Causeway
National Highways	1 94 95
National Routes	1 Alt 94
State Routes	2 3 4 5 6 7 8 10 12 13 14 18 19 20 21 22 26 27 30 Alt 30 31 36 40 41 50 51 52 53 55 56 60 61 64 65 66 71 72 75 76 77 78 81 82 83 84 85 87 101 102 103 104 107 115 116 120 123 132 136 138 139 142 150 151 152 154 155
Tourist Drives	200 201 202 203 204 205 206 207 250 251 252 254 255 256 257 258 259 350 351 352 353 354 355 356 357 358 359 360
List of road routes in Western Australia

• Streets in Perth central business district, Western Australia
• Elizabeth Quay
• Streets in East Perth, Western Australia