The Victorian government has announced a major milestone has been reached on no-truck zones in Melbourne’s west.
The state government has awarded the contract for the camera systems that will work to take big trucks off local roads in Melbourne’s west once the West Gate Tunnel opens.
Sensor Dynamics will supply and install equipment to monitor six local roads that will assist in enforcing the no truck zone once the tunnel opens.
The cameras will collect information to help the National Heavy Vehicle Regulator (NHVR) enforce no truck zones on Francis Street, Somerville Road, Buckley Street, Moore Street, Blackshaws Road and Hudsons Road.
These cameras will then allow the NHVR to enforce the zones using state of the art technology that detects the type of truck in real time and instantly categorises them as either exempt or not from regulations.
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Exemptions will apply for trucks starting or ending their journey within a no truck zone for deliveries, construction or maintenance, vehicle repair or vehicle sales.
The cameras will provide 24/7 enforcement of the no truck zones once the tunnel is open to take 9,000 trucks off residential streets in Melbourne’s inner west.
“When the tunnel opens, no truck zones will deliver take thousands of trucks off residential streets every day and provide industry with direct road links to the Port of Melbourne,” Victorian ports and freight minister Melissa Horne says.
The roll-out of the technology has followed a Heavy Vehicle Monitoring Camera Trial back in September 2022 that looked at truck curfews and restrictions for heavy vehicles in Melbourne’s inner west.
On top of this, the Victorian government says it has also finalised a 42-year lease with the Port of Melbourne for the former Melbourne Market site to take more trucks off local roads.
“Through the West Gate Tunnel, our investment in truck ban enforcement technology and leasing the old Melbourne Market side to the Port of Melbourne, we’re getting trucks off local roads in Melbourne’s west and returning them to local people,” Member for Footscray Katie Hall says.
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