The local transport industry has delivered mixed reviews on the Victorian government’s recent confirmation of new truck restrictions in Melbourne’s inner west ahead of the opening of the West Gate Tunnel.
Victorian roads and road safety minister Melissa Horne announced over the weekend that a night-time and weekend no-truck zone will be made official on Williamstown Road, adding to Francis Street, Somerville Road, Buckley Street, Moore Street, Blackshaws Road and Hudsons Road as routes under the no-truck zones.
The night-time and weekend No-Truck Zone will be enforced on Williamstown Road between Geelong Street in Seddon and the West Gate Freeway in Yarraville on weekdays from 8pm to 6am, and over weekends from 8pm Friday to 6am Monday.
Exemptions will apply to make sure the delivery of groceries, parcels and other services to residents and businesses across the inner west can still occur.
Heavy vehicles entering No-Truck Zones will be monitored by smart roadside cameras that can detect and categorise a vehicle’s exemption status with fines automatically issued to vehicles not permitted in the zones.
In response, the Container Transport Alliance Australia (CTAA) says the truck curfews are in contrast to the “lack of action” done to upgrade important feeder freight routes that are vital to productive access to the Port of Melbourne for containerised freight.
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CTAA director Neil Chambers says the container transport industry is “very let down – victimised and demonised even” by the news and is calling on the government to act on recommendations he says it has been “sitting on for over four years” to upgrade road infrastructure in the area so that freight efficiency and productivity aren’t compromised.
“Container transport operators perform the essential task of handling the landside logistics for all shipping containers that pass through the Port of Melbourne,” Chambers says.
“The port contributes over $10 billion to the economy per annum and handles close to 9,000 Twenty Foot Equivalent Units (TEU) per day.
“Without the vast majority of these containers being moved effectively and productively by road transport to and from the premises of cargo and commodity importers and exporters, the standard of living of everyday Victorians and Australians will be impacted very negatively.
“CTAA and our Alliance companies have worked with the government and the Department of Transport and Planning (DTP) for many years to prepare for the implementation of No Truck Zones on the east-west routes in Melbourne’s inner west. These truck bans made sense to provide improved safety and amenity to the communities and residents in inner western suburbs.
“That support however was predicated on the need for important north-south routes from the industrial precincts of Brooklyn, Tottenham and Sunshine to the West Gate Freeway (M1) to remain accessible and to be upgraded to accommodate an increase in freight movements.
“The initial Environmental Effects Statement (EES) for the West Gate Tunnel Project recommended that the Government undertake a corridor study along Millers Road and Williamstown Road between the West Gate Freeway and Geelong Road to determine traffic and transport management works required to cater for the projected traffic volumes in 2031.”
The Victorian government says it is rezoning land in Brooklyn and Tottenham to encourage container parks to relocate to “better connected industrial land” while also leasing the 29-hectare Old Melbourne Market site on Footscray Road to the port for container storage and truck marshalling.
“We’re getting more trucks off local roads right across Melbourne’s west improving liveability and safety for locals,” Horne says.
Chambers says the government has failed on act on recommendations made in studies on the tunnel and its local impact.
“This failure to act now leaves the freight industry facing delays, congestion and inadequate freight routes between the Port of Melbourne and industrial precincts in the inner west, despite all the efforts to create better access to the Port of Melbourne along the upgraded M1 corridor and West Gate Tunnel infrastructure,” he says.
“The night and weekend truck bans on Williamstown Road will push heavy vehicles back to the Millers Road corridor and through the Transurban heavy vehicle tolling point east of Millers Road on the M1.
“CTAA is extremely concerned that the existing dilapidated road infrastructure and traffic-light sequencing will not cope. Also, CTAA has already modelled that the heavy vehicle tolls on the M1 will increase container freight cartage costs by between 13 per cent to upwards of 30 per cent depending on the freight task. These night and weekend truck bans on Williamstown Road will just add to these transport costs.
“The community needs to prepare for these cost increases to ultimately filter through to higher prices for foodstuffs, household goods and other commodities consumed in our business and domestic economy, contributing to cost-of-living pressures.
“The government needs to urgently upgrade existing freight road infrastructure as a countervailing measure to its decision to enforce even more truck bans in the inner west of Melbourne. You can’t keep squeezing the freight sector and not expect something to break.”
On the other hand, the Victorian Transport Association (VTA) endorsed the curfew announcements on Williamstown Road, saying the tunnel will deliver dual benefits of improved liveability for residents and enhanced freight efficiency.
VTA CEO Peter Anderson says the curfews represent a win-win for residents and freight operators alike.
“The West Gate Tunnel will provide a much more seamless and efficient alternative for heavy vehicles that require direct access to the Port of Melbourne. This infrastructure investment means we can reduce truck movements on residential streets like Williamstown Road while ensuring freight operators have the capacity they need to keep Victoria moving,” he says.
“Striking a balance between community amenity and economic prosperity is critical. Residents in Melbourne’s inner west will enjoy safer, quieter streets, while freight and logistics operators will benefit from improved travel times and reliability through the West Gate Tunnel.”