A hard-fought community campaign to cut truck traffic in the inner-west has won two new curfews on major truck routes.
From early next year, morning (8am-9.30am) and afternoon (2.30pm-4pm) curfews will be in place on Somerville Road in Yarraville along with a new 8pm-6am curfew on non-local trucks on Footscray’s Moore Street.
A 40km/h school speed zone backed by electronic speed limit signs has also come into effect on Francis Street in Yarraville, which carries about 6000 trucks a day.
Announced at last week’s third Trucks and the Inner West forum, the curfews were driven by years of community pressure including a series of disruptive road blockades.
VicRoads chief executive John Merritt said he appreciated the immense frustration over noise, pollution and safety.
“We’re trying to alleviate that noise, that anxiety and that ever real danger of having that [truck] movement across the three schools in that particular area,” he said.
Mr Merritt warned there was no easy fix for Moore Street but the curfew could cut more than 400 of the approximately 900 trucks from using the route each night.
Maribyrnong mayor Grant Miles said the curfews were a good start but wants to see the toll for trucks using Citylink overnight to be slashed to encourage more truck traffic onto the freeway network.
Maribyrnong Truck Action group president Samantha McArthur said school crossing curfews would improve student safety but failed to deal with the health impact of thousands of diesel trucks passing the schools each day.
Victorian Transport Association industry services manager Brad Close said industry accepts the new curfews but wants the state government to provide permanent infrastructure solutions including both the West Gate Distributor and the western section of the East-West Link.
Less Trucks for Moore’s Scott Adams said he was disappointed the definition of ‘local’ trucks exempt from the curfew had been extended to destinations as far as Tottenham.
Western suburbs Liberal MP Andrew Elsbury said 11 new electronic truck advisory signs would be installed, at a cost of $590,000.
Williamstown MP Wade Noonan described the new curfews as “a cynical exercise” by the state government that simply shifts trucks to other local roads.
