Zig Zag Scenic Drive

Update: 14 May 2021: City To Re-open Zig Zag Scenic Drive to Vehicles During Day from 1 July
At the April Ordinary Council Meeting, Council endorsed the City’s recommendation to re-open the one-way road from 11am to early evening each day to better understand the situation. The City of Kalamunda will reopen the Zig Zag Scenic Drive in Gooseberry Hill during the day from 1 July 2021 for a 12-month trial. Throughout the trial, City Rangers will open the gates to vehicles at 11am each day and close the top gate at 8:30pm each evening. They will then drive the Zig Zag to direct people out before locking the exit gate. [read the full media release notice here...]

Earlier Updates:

25 March 2021: The City has now reviewed community feedback on the future of the Zig Zag Scenic Drive - more than 1330 submissions were received! Copies of the Community Engagement Report and the Community Engagement Report Overview can be downloaded from the document library. A report was presented for consideration at the 27 April 2021 Ordinary Council Meeting (OCM).

Prior to the April OCM, City staff presented the report at the 13 April 2021 Public Agenda Briefing Forum and answer any questions. Community members were invited to attend the April PAB to listen to the presentation, ask questions and make statements. More information about OCMs and PABs and how you can be involved is available here.

October 2020: As at the 27 October 2020 Ordinary Council Meeting, Council resolved to extend the temporary closure of Zig Zag Scenic Drive to all vehicles to no later than 31 May 2021 unless determined by Council at an earlier date.

This purpose of this extension is to allow the Administration to complete analysis of the community feedback received, considering the consultation attracted in excess of 1,330 returned surveys and submissions over the engagement period. There is a significant amount of work involved in properly analysing this feedback.

For the full Ordinary Council Meetings Minutes click here

About the Project:
The Zig Zag Scenic Drive is a one-way road down the western side of the Darling Range, within the Gooseberry Hill National Park. It was originally a section of railway line built to transport timber from the top of the escarpment down to the commercial centre of Midland. Today it is a steep, one-way 3km drive that winds down a very narrow road with many hairpin turns, and dynamic changes of scenery around every corner. The Zig Zag is a flagship feature of the Gooseberry Hill National Park. Unfortunately, the site also has a long history of anti-social issues, with Council approving a sequence of traffic calming and parking improvements in Lascelles Parade and new measures aimed at tourism and addressing antisocial behaviour back in 2014, which were then rolled out by the City. Projects showed promising signs of improvement early on, however the ongoing issues relating to hooning, damage to the natural environment and other antisocial activity in the area have continued to be in the spotlight.
Following on from a temporary 6-month closure of Zig Zag drive due to hooning and other anti-social activity, The City of Kalamunda will be considering a permanent decision regarding motor vehicle access to the iconic Zig Zag drive and wishes to consult with the community on this topic.

Comments closed 5pm, Monday 7 September 2020.