The health and safety impacts of truck traffic on inner-west residents will be better tackled in the year ahead, according to VicRoads chief operating officer Peter Todd.
Mr Todd joined senior staff and executives from the EPA, VicRoads, Department of Health and Maribyrnong council to hear from residents at an ‘‘open house’’ at Maribyrnong town hall last Thursday.
He told the Weekly that feedback indicated residents expected a better response than they had seen in the past.
“We recognise there is a problem and this [meeting] is a way we can actually engage with the community and hear their issues and hear people’s solutions – things we may not have thought of,” he said.
“I think the number of organisations that have come together in a consolidated approach means we’re actually looking at it in a more holistic way.”
The meeting follows last month’s grounding of the 200-vehicle fleet operated by Spotswood-based Cootes Transport because of safety concerns.
Mr Todd said there were no quick fixes, but more clearly needed to be done in the short-term.
“Older trucks is one of the key issues we’ve heard tonight, particularly carting empty containers.
“Moore Street [Footscray] is also standing out as an issue. I know we’ve said ‘no’ about speed limits there before, but we certainly need to look at what we can do in terms of the movement of trucks along there.”
Mr Todd said VicRoads was open to taking on board suggestions from residents, but he cautioned against action that pushed problems onto other areas. “To me it’s about looking at a whole area and coming up with a broader plan rather than dealing with one spot after another.”
Feedback from the “open house” will be considered alongside data from an “origin and destination” study tracking which trucks are in the area on local business and which are using it as a shortcut.
Maribyrnong Truck Action Group president Samantha McArthur said the open house event, the first of a number planned for this year, was “a good first step”.
