A MOVE by the Victorian government to impose night-time and weekend no-truck zones in Melbourne’s inner west highlights the lack of action on upgrading important feeder routes, the Container Transport Alliance Australia says.
The Victorian Minister for Ports & Freight Melissa Horne issued a statement over the weekend that a night-time and weekend no-truck zone would be enforced on Williamstown Road between Geelong Road in Seddon and the West Gate Freeway in Yarraville on weekdays from 8pm to 6am and over weekends from 8pm Friday to 6am Monday when the West Gate Tunnel opens mid-December.
Exemptions are to 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 are to 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.
“We’re getting more trucks off local roads right across Melbourne’s west improving liveability and safety for locals,” Ms Horne said.
But not everyone share’s Minister Horne’s happiness.
CTAA director Neil Chambers said the transport sector was calling on the government to immediately act on recommendations from 2021 to upgrade road infrastructure in Melbourne’s inner west.
Mr Chambers said the container transport operators felt let down and “demonised even”.
“Container transport operators perform the essential task of handling the landside logistics for all shipping containers that pass through the Port of Melbourne,” he said.
Mr Chambers said without most of these containers being moved effectively and productively, the standard of living of everyday Victorians and Australians would decline.
“CTAA and our alliance companies have worked with the government and the Department of Transport & Planning (DTP) for many years,” he said.
“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.”
General manager of Vantrans Container Transport (a business based in Footscray), Stefan van Hoff, said those who advocated for the curfews would be the ones to pay the price.
“This uninformed decision is just going to increase costs further and these people that have advocated for this will be the same people to complain when everyday costs have increased by the time it gets to them,” Mr van Hoff said.
“[This is] a typical case of having the cake and eating it too... they have enjoyed the low entry prices to homes around these industrial areas and now complain that the trucks are doing what they have been for the last hundred years.”
Mr van Hoff said customers would feel the pinch.
“The companies in the West will need to pass the Tolls on and naturally customers will look to reduce costs and eventually move to transport companies who aren't charging these costs,” he said.
Mr Chambers noted the initial Environmental Effects Statement (EES) for the West Gate Tunnel Project recommended the government undertake a corridor study along Millers Road and Williamstown Road between the West Gate Freeway and Geelong Road based on projected traffic volumes for 2031.
This led to study findings provided to the government by the Department of Transport in September 2021 recommending significant freight efficiency upgrades to:
“Shamefully, for the last four years, the government has failed to act on these recommendations,” Mr Chambers said.
“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.”
Meanwhile Victorian Transport Association chief executive Peter Anderson backed the no-truck-zones as a win-win for residents and freight operators, albeit the need to plan for increasing freight volumes remained.
“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,” Mr Anderson said.
He highlighted the need for larger, more productive heavy vehicles operating on suitable infrastructure.
“The West Gate Tunnel is a vital piece of that puzzle, ensuring Victoria’s supply chains remain efficient and competitive,” Mr Anderson said.