Charles Street (Perth)

Charles Street is a major road in the inner northern suburbs of Perth, Western Australia.^[1] It runs from Newcastle Street and extends up to London Street, providing a connection between Mitchell Freeway and Wanneroo Road. It is the southern section of part of State Route 60, which continues north along Wanneroo Road.^[2]

Charles Street, Perth Western Australia
General information
Type	Road
Length	3.7 km (2.3 mi)
Opened	1853
Route number(s)	State Route 60
Major junctions
South end	Mitchell Freeway (State Route 2) Newcastle Street
	Vincent Street (State Route 72) Scarborough Beach Road
North end	Green Street (State Route 75) / Walcott Street (State Route 75) Wanneroo Road (State Route 60)
Location(s)
Major suburbs	West Perth, North Perth, Joondanna

History

The street was named after Captain Charles Fitzgerald, Governor of WA, 1848–55.^[3] The section of Charles Street from Carr Street to Walcott Street was originally an extension of Wanneroo Road.^[4] Its name appears for the first time on maps of the Land Department in 1853.^[5]

Access to Perth and its markets was a very important factor in the early years of the settlement (Swan River Colony), and Charles Street (leading onto the northern track) became an important road during the 1870s...The Methodist Church established a Chapel in Charles Street in 1895 and a more substantial building was added in 1897. St Paul’s Anglican Church was also erected in Charles Street in 1897, and in the 1920s a new church building was constructed on the corner of Charles and Carr streets.^[6]

In October 2022, Main Roads began a planning study to upgrade Charles Street with grade-separated "duck and dive" interchanges (effectively single-point diamond or roundabout interchanges in which the intersection is at-grade and the free-flowing road is below ground) at its busy Vincent Street, Scarborough Beach Road, and Walcott Street intersections.^[7] However, after community opposition to the required demolition of about 100 properties, the study was abandoned in November 2022.^[8]

Major intersections

All intersections listed are signalised unless otherwise mentioned.

LGA	Location	km	mi	Destinations	Notes
Stirling	Joondanna–Yokine boundary	0.0	0.0	Wanneroo Road (State Route 60) – Lancelin, Wanneroo northwest / London Street (State Route 61  – Leederville, Subiaco, Nedlands southwest	Northern terminus; road continues north as Wanneroo Road; Traffic light controlled y-junction with no right turn possible between London and Charles Street south.
	Joondanna–Yokine-Coolbinia tripoint	0.3	0.19	Wiluna Street  – Nollamara	Connects to Flinders Street. No right turn possible between Wiluna and Charles Street north.
Vincent–Stirling boundary	Joondanna–Coolbinia–North Perth–tripoint	0.5	0.31	Green Street westbound / Walcott Street eastbound (State Route 75)  – Scarborough, Innaloo, Osborne Park, Mount Lawley	No right turn permitted from Green Street to Charles Street south.
Vincent	North Perth	2.0	1.2	Scarborough Beach Road westbound / Angove Street eastbound  – Scarborough, Innaloo, Osborne Park, Mount Hawthorn
	North Perth–West Perth boundary	3.0	1.9	Vincent Street (State Route 72)  – City Beach, Wembley, Leederville, Highgate
	West Perth	3.4	2.1	Carr Street	No right turns permitted from Charles to Carr Street from either direction.
Vincent–Perth boundary	West Perth–Northbridge boundary	3.7	2.3	Newcastle Street  – Leederville, Perth	Traffic light controlled; no right turn from Newcastle Street westbound onto Charles Street northbound or Charles Street southbound onto Newcastle Street westbound.
		3.7	2.3	Mitchell Freeway (State Route 2)  – Cockburn Central, Rockingham, Mandurah	Southern terminus of Charles Street. Continues as freeway southbound entry and northbound exit ramps only as well as the Charles Street Bus Bridge after traffic lights as part of the Hamilton Interchange
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi       Incomplete access Note: Intersections with minor local roads are not shown

References

1. Main Roads Western Australia (7 September 2017). "Map 1 – Perth City" (PDF) (Map). Perth Metropolitan Destinations. Not to scale. Government of Western Australia. Archived (PDF) from the original on 16 May 2018.
2. Distance book (12 ed.). Main Roads Western Australia. 2012. pp. 4–5. ISBN 0 7309 7657 2. Archived from the original on 24 October 2012. Retrieved 8 October 2012.
3. "PERTH STREETS. Origin Of Nomenclature". Sunday Times. 4 August 1929. Retrieved 21 May 2018.
4. "Item 342 - Perth 18/31". State Records Office of WA. 21 November 1894. Retrieved 21 May 2018.
5. "PERTH STREETS". Sunday Times (Perth). No. 1645. Western Australia. 4 August 1929. p. 12 (Second Section). Retrieved 21 August 2020 – via National Library of Australia.
6. "A Brief History Of The Suburb - West Perth" (PDF). Vincent Heritage, City Of Vincent. Archived from the original (PDF) on 12 March 2018. Retrieved 21 May 2018.
7. Lynch, Jacqueline (8 October 2022). "New 'duck and dive' underground intersection plans for Perth CBD". ABC News. Retrieved 1 February 2023.
8. De Poloni, Gian (22 November 2022). "Controversial inner-city highway plan scrapped after negative public feedback". ABC News. Retrieved 1 February 2023.

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