By Candice Boyle
IMMEDIATE action to address truck traffic on residential roads and long-term measures to provide better truck routes in the West are the key components of the Maribyrnong Truck Action Group’s (MTAG) submission to the East-West Link Needs Assessment Study.
The group’s submission focuses on balancing the needs of freight traffic with those of residents in areas adjacent to freight movements.
Infrastructure and curfew proposals are considered by MTAG in its submission to Sir Rod Eddington’s State Government-funded inquiry.
Its submission says immediate action is required to restrict trucks without an origin or destination that is within municipality limits from using a number of residential roads within the city to help ease congestion and improve safety.
The submission also proposes an extension of night truck curfews and the waving of tolls for trucks with origins or destinations east of the West Gate Bridge.
The proposals made by the submission are supported by the results of the MTAG’s recent Residents’ Truck Impact Study.
Health findings related to excessive truck traffic in residential areas are included in the submission to provide an insight into the experience of residents living on busy roads.
In addition to the immediate recommendations made in the submission, like the Maribyrnong City Council, MTAG proposes an upgrade of Paramount Rd, Dempster St and Sredna St to create a north-south truck route to the West Gate Freeway.
The submission also includes support for a new exit ramp before the West Gate Bridge to allow trucks to gain access to container yards without traveling on Francis St and Somerville Rd.
Rail and public transport solutions also feature in the submission that the group hopes will provide a much-needed insight into the impact of truck traffic on the residents of the City of Maribyrnong.
