New restrictions for trucks in Footscray and Yarraville will apply from the beginning of the new school year.
New, extended truck curfews in residential areas of Melbourne’s inner-west will apply from Thursday, January 29.
Those ignoring the new rules will run the risk of an on-the-spot fine of $148.
VicRoads says the curfews restricting truck access to Moore Street and Somerville Road in Yarraville and Footscray “strike a balance for the local community and local truck operators”.
“The curfews will see a reduction of trucks using local streets and address community concerns around safety, noise and air quality,” VicRoads says.
Coinciding with the beginning of the new school year, the curfews mean heavy vehicles will be unable to access Moore Street between 8pm and 6am weeknights, and over the weekend from 1pm Saturdays until 6am Mondays.
The existing curfew on Somerville Road will be extended to add school drop-off and pick-up times to the times trucks will be excluded. In addition to the same hours as the Moore Street curfew, trucks will be banned on Somerville Road between 8am and 9.30am, and from 2.30pm to 4pm Monday to Friday.
Exemptions will be granted to transport vehicles servicing local businesses.
The Victorian Transport Association says this concession was hard-fought for, and it is important that the industry abides by the curfew arrangements.
“As an industry, we need to ensure that compliance to the exemptions is of the highest level and [in] doing so demonstrate the importance of maintaining access while still accepting the concerns of the community,” the VTA says.
VicRoads will host an information session* for transport operators and other affected businesses tomorrow.
(*VicRoads has deleted the webpage that a previous link here related to.)