When you think of traffic congestion, do you think of cars bumper-to-bumper on the freeway during your morning commute to work? Or perhaps those feeder roads close to the city that become clogged with people trying to enter the CBD?

Key points: Main Roads says weekend traffic varies and can be difficult to manage

Main Roads says weekend traffic varies and can be difficult to manage The peak starts later on weekends, but roads typically handle more cars

The peak starts later on weekends, but roads typically handle more cars Hotspots are centred around shopping, sporting and coastal precincts

While these are the most typical scenarios for snail-paced driving in Perth, data shows the way we travel on weekends can rival the weekday grind.

And while connections into the CBD are the focus of congestion on weekdays, things like children's sporting commitments, the weekly shopping run or a trip to the beach can leave people with a headache on Saturday and Sunday.

So where are the key weekend hotspots you should look to avoid?

Main Roads manager of real time traffic operations John Venables said weekends were incredibly difficult to predict.

"Weekends can vary — they're really, really difficult for us to manage in some respects because they vary so much," he said.

In the north

On weekends north of the river, the summer beach traffic is mainly centred around the precincts of Cottesloe, City Beach and Scarborough.

If you travel along West Coast Drive between Sorrento and Trigg early on a weekend morning, travel can be up to eight minutes longer than weekdays.

Coastal routes become congested as Perth heads into summer. ( Google Maps )

Beach traffic along Marine Parade in Cottesloe hits its peak on Sunday mornings.

Shopping centres also get a notable mention in the list of weekend peak hour hotspots, including the Cedric Street Mitchell Freeway offramp heading toward Ikea and the Innaloo shopping precinct, and roads near Morley Galleria.

The Mitchell Freeway offramp in Innaloo, and nearby roads, are clogged on weekends. ( Google Maps )

Meanwhile, Selby Street in Jolimont becomes a hive of activity mid-morning on a Saturday, catering for the parents and children flocking to the Matthews Netball Centre.

Osborne Park also sees its traffic load intensify on the weekend as consumers flock to the retail hub popular with car yards, major whitegoods stores and all manner of smaller shops.

On Scarborough Beach Road between Scarborough and Glendalough at midday on Saturday, travel can be up to six minutes longer than weekdays.

Mr Venables said weekend peaks started a lot later in the day.

The weekend peak hits much later than weekdays, like in Morley near the shops. ( Google Maps )

"We know sporting events around key sporting areas, around the netball centres and football and that, gets very busy as parents take their kids to sport," he said.

"Shopping centres can get busy, particularly as we lead up to Christmas they get even busier, so that's something that is a seasonal thing."

"And as we approach summer, certainly along the coast and the beach is going to get particularly busy, whereas this time of the year it's not nearly so busy, so those seasonal trends come into play."

In the east

East of the city, weekend traffic is clearly centred around major shopping precincts.

Albany Highway in Cannington is bustling on a Saturday, while High Road in Riverton also experiences high traffic volume.

Albany Highway becomes blocked through Cannington with shoppers out on the road. ( Google Maps )

Meanwhile Great Eastern Highway in Midland, near the Midland shopping precinct, is busy at a similar time.

Mr Venables said parts of the road network actually catered for more vehicles on weekends than weekdays.

"Something that people don't quite understand is that on sections of our freeway we shift more traffic per hour on a Saturday than we might do on a weekday," he said.

"And the reason for that is more traffic tries to get on the freeway in the peak hour, and as you know it gets congested and the speeds drop, therefore the traffic flow slows down.

"On the [weekend] typically the volumes haven't got to a point where they have got too congested and therefore the flows remain high but we actually shift more traffic."

In the south

Traffic is generally heaviest around shopping precincts south of the city, as well as inner-Fremantle.

Except for — and to the frustration of many — a small section of the Kwinana Freeway in Cockburn, which seems to be at a standstill no matter what time of the day.

The Cockburn stretch of Kwinana Freeway is choked compared to the rest of Perth. ( Google Maps )

Roadworks on the Kwinana Freeway around Cockburn cause headaches for commuters. ( Google Maps )

On the Kwinana Freeway between Rowley Road and Farrington Road at midday on a Saturday and Sunday, travel can take up to 28 minutes, which is double the weekday average time.

But Main Roads expected that area to be flowing much more freely next year, once road works to widen the Freeway are complete.

On Canning Highway from the Kwinana Freeway to Fremantle at midday on Saturday, travel can be four minutes longer than weekdays.

Canning Highway between Fremantle and Applecross becomes heavily congested on weekends. ( Google Maps )

And traffic is heaviest on Leach Highway around the Myaree shopping precinct at the same time.

More data equals better traffic flow

Mr Venables said there was much better technology available today to monitor traffic, both for commuters and for those monitoring the road network.

"I think we're getting far more intelligence these days, but certainly going back in the past we got caught out a few times with some shopping centres around Christmas time," he said.

"I remember 10 years ago we got really caught out and thought 'What's going on here?' but these days we're well across that and we sort of prepare for that."

As for how to avoid the weekend crunch, Mr Venables suggested monitoring traffic reports as you would on a weekday.

"What we're finding is people take a lot of care … and listen to traffic reports … on a weekday because they know the traffic's congested, but they may not pay so much attention on the weekend," he said.

"But we still put the information out there. So I'd encourage people to use our Main Roads [resources] and plan their journey accordingly."