The Victorian government is continuing to prepare for new no-truck zones that will be implemented in Melbourne when the West Gate Tunnel opens, outlining exemptions and camera monitoring for heavy vehicles.
When the tunnel opens later this year, six 24-hour no-truck zones will be introduced on key roads across Melbourne’s inner west, including Francis Street and Somerville Road in Yarraville, Buckley Street and Moore Street in Footscray, Blackshaws Road in Altona North and Hudsons Road in Spotswood.
The new regulations will see certain heavy vehicles be permitted to travel in the zones, including buses, tow trucks, concrete trucks and waste disposal trucks.
Two-axle trucks that aren’t transporting shipping containers will also be granted access to the zones to deliver groceries, parcels and other services.
Alongside this, new exemptions will also allow motor homes, emergency service and police vehicles that are classed as heavy vehicles, as well as trucks that are garaged within the zones, to travel through the areas without penalty.
On top of this, exemptions also apply for truck deliveries, construction or maintenance work, as well as vehicle repairs and sales.
When the zones come into effect, smart roadside cameras will detect and categorise a vehicle’s exemption status, providing a chance to fine heavy vehicles that are caught using the zones when they shouldn’t be.
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Sensor Dynamics has been awarded the contract to supply and install cameras that will help the National Heavy Vehicle Regulator (NHVR) with monitoring and enforcement.
“These regulations and the smart cameras will help us take thousands of trucks a day off local streets right across the inner west, improving safety and air quality for the community when the West Gate Tunnel opens later this year,” Victorian ports and freight minister Melissa Horne says.
The state government says the zones will help increase liveability for local residents.
“These regulations mean that local residents will see less trucks on their residential streets when No-Truck Zones across the inner west come into effect, without compromising the delivery of groceries, parcels and other services,” member for Footscray Katie Hall says.
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