A while ago I wrote about how much busier the roads in Perth seemed, compared to decades past. Now there are some facts and figures to confirm this perception.

Statistics gleaned from Main Roads showed that people generally spend much more time driving to and from work than they did twenty years ago. That would be expected, of course. But there's even been quite a rise in the last year.

This is clearly an issue of great concern for the State Government. And you can see evidence that they are onto the case, with lots of roadwork being done all over the city.

Clearly, the scale of the problem is due mainly to the fact that those who designed the roads and highways containing those trouble spots simply didn't envision the level and rate of population growth that actually occurred. And that's understandable. Who would have anticipated such a large and long resources boom? Having grown up here in the seventies and eighties, the sheer number of vehicles on the road is something I still haven't really gotten used to. (And I don't even drive here.)

And it's not just the cars. I am still gobsmacked at how many people there are wherever I go now. Even in outlying areas, you just see more people all around. (That may not be many of course. There's still a lot of space here. So it's not even nearly "chockas" -- even in the CBD. Still, the increase is very noticeable.)