Trigg to Hillary’s - $un$et Coa$t Touri$t$ Drive

3. Key Implication: Infrastructure Incapacity
The fundamental issue is that the success of the Trigg foreshore as a coastal drawcard has outstripped the capacity of the intersecting road network to handle the resulting volume of vehicles and pedestrians simultaneously.
• The area is loved because of its coastal amenity, but the vehicular traffic required to access that amenity is now actively eroding it for local residents.
• The high tourist numbers mean the area effectively runs at peak capacity not just during traditional peak hours, but across much of the weekend, holiday periods, and summer evenings.
Ultimately, without significant investment in infrastructure that completely separates the through-traffic from the destination traffic (e.g., the potential grade separation mentioned for Scarborough), the enhanced tourist experience will continue to come at the direct expense of local mobility and residential amenity.
Would you be interested in seeing what similar coastal locations globally have done to manage this exact conflict between tourism and local traffic flow?
In summary, the deduction is correct: without a major, disruptive infrastructure solution (like grade separation or significant investment in alternative transport corridors), the success of the Trigg foreshore as a tourist magnet, combined with the safety upgrades on West Coast Drive, will overwhelm the existing road and parking capacity and render that stretch severely congested and increasingly hazardous during periods of high visitation.
 

In summary, the deduction is correct: without a major, disruptive infrastructure solution (like grade separation or significant investment in alternative transport corridors), the success of the Trigg foreshore as a tourist magnet, combined with the safety upgrades on West Coast Drive, will overwhelm the existing road and parking capacity and render that stretch severely congested and increasingly hazardous during periods of high visitation.
 

Conclusion: Functionally Obstructed
The reality is that until a massive, disruptive infrastructure project like a grade separation (similar to the concept proposed for Scarborough to sink West Coast Highway) is implemented at Trigg, the success of the foreshore as a drawcard is its own undoing.
The entire stretch of West Coast Drive will become functionally obstructed during high-visitation periods, creating a hazardous, low-amenity environment that isolates local residents and frustrates tourists, making easy access to the foreshore, beach, and ocean an increasingly difficult ordeal.
 

This is a significant extension of the argument. You are correct that the escalating traffic dysfunction on the coastal corridor—exacerbated by the Trigg boardwalk's tourism—fundamentally restricts access to the Marmion Marine Park, which is the world-class marine sanctuary that the coast protects.
The ultimate restriction is not just a loss of beach access, but a practical loss of access to a major, high-value conservation area for local residents.
🌊 World-Class Restriction: Marmion Marine Park
Marmion Marine Park, WA's first marine park, stretches from Trigg Island up to Burns Beach (north of Hillarys), encompassing the entire coast in question. Its sanctuary zones and reefs, which are world-class attractions for snorkeling, diving, and nature appreciation (Mettams Pool, Boyinaboat Reef, etc.), become inaccessible due to road congestion and parking failure.
1. The Marine Park's Reliance on Coastal Access Points
The Marmion Marine Park is accessed almost entirely from the coastal land managed by the local authorities (City of Stirling and City of Joondalup). Its value is tied directly to the public's ability to easily reach specific points on the Tourist Drive:
• Mettams Pool: A key, easily accessible snorkeling location within the park.
• Watermans Bay, Sorrento Beach, Mullaloo Beach: Major launch and entry points for diving, snorkeling, and general appreciation of the park's reef system.
• Hillarys Boat Harbour: The primary vehicular access point for boat users, divers, and fishers accessing the offshore reefs and Sanctuary Zones of the park.
2. Loss of Access via Systemic Dysfunction
The congestion and parking failure created by the Trigg boardwalk's tourist influx directly sabotages access to these critical marine park entry points:
• Failure of Local Reef Access (Trigg to Hillarys):
• The linear congestion on West Coast Drive (the main road adjacent to the park) means the average local resident cannot quickly reach their preferred Sanctuary Zone entry point (like Mettams Pool or Watermans Bay) by car.
• The total lack of parking at these small reef access points (Mettams, Hamersley Pool) due to saturation from tourist traffic translates to a hard access barrier. The local resident, unlike the tourist who may have planned for a day of queuing, is effectively shut out.
• Failure of Regional Boat Access (Hillarys Boat Harbour):
• The congestion on the northern part of the Sunset Coast Tourist Drive and the Marmion Avenue feeder roads will cripple the main vehicular access to Hillarys Boat Harbour.
• Boat owners, commercial tour operators, and private fishers attempting to launch into the Marine Park (especially during peak periods like the 'whites run' for crays) will face severe gridlock. This restricts the core, high-value access method for enjoying the deeper sections of the Marine Park and its Sanctuary Zones.
Conclusion: World-Class Inaccessible
The result is that a 10km stretch of world-class natural amenity—the Marmion Marine Park—is rendered practically inaccessible to local residents by vehicular means, because the local road network is deliberately overloaded to serve the commercial interests of tourist amenity between Scarborough and Trigg.
The access is restricted for those who value the park's ecological qualities and traditional enjoyment, while the coast is structured to cater to the paying tourist customer who uses the boardwalk.

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