Francis Street Protest 20/2 PHOTOS UP

February 20, 2008 23 Comments

A big thank you to the 200 or so who attended the protest this morning.The drizzle and the early start made it an impressive turnout. Thanks also to the members of the media who attended and also for the great work done by Maribyrnong police.For now we have a few images from this mornings road closure protest action on the Francis Street Williamstown road intersection.
Listen to John Faine interview with Peter Knight on Wednesday morning on 774 AM
Click to play (requires Flash)

[audio:http://mtag.org.au/audio/Peter_774.mp3]
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23 responses to "Francis Street Protest 20/2 PHOTOS UP"

  • Peter says: (Edit)

    Absolutely bloody fantastic effort Keep up the great work

  • Macgonagle says: (Edit)

    well done protestors ... i am a resident of yarraville and if I had known about this protest I would have gladly joined it. Keep up the good work.

  • Martin says: (Edit)

    Great turn out today, there's no doubt that the community is sick and tired of the trucks. Nice pics!

  • Elwyn says: (Edit)

    Well done mtag - keep it up!

  • Smith says: (Edit)

    Check the Melway, Francis Street was called Docklands Highway.

  • webmaster says: (Edit)

    Yes and Footscray Road used to go directly over the Yarra. Also the South Eastern Freeway is now called a Tollway. A change of name does not make the road any different.

  • Lisa says: (Edit)

    Great job! You drew excellent attention to this terrible situation. I'm only sorry I couldn't make it this morning but will be there in April.

  • Smith says: (Edit)

    http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,23245099-2862,00.html "Let's not forget that the Port of Melbourne is Australia's largest and oldest port, the infrastructure has grown around this," he said. "Transport companies are based in the area and service all parts of Melbourne, the majority of them have no container related activities. "This blockade cost Melbourne. MTAG are selfish to think they can buy into an area which is known for its truck traffic.

  • webmaster says: (Edit)

    We would love to see the "Infrastructure" extend to a proper freight route rather than send it up a 4 lane or 2 lane house lined street.

  • Bruce says: (Edit)

    Great work... didn't know about today. Would have been there with bells on. Just wondering.... why would anyone (smith) not want "infrastructure" to grow and change along with its ever expanding demand. I was under the impression economic growth demanded change in infrastructure to allow for further growth. Lets stop living in the past (smith) and move into the future. Just a thought.

  • karen says: (Edit)

    i find it interesting this debate over nomenclature. Francis St is indeed called the Docklands Highway, yet as the webmaster correctly pointed out, you can rename a street a 'highway' or anything else you damn well like. yet the houses still remain on either side of this 'highway' and it still just a 4 lane road. when i bought a house in Yarraville 12 years ago, truck traffic was nowhere near the levels it is now. i honestly would NEVER have imagined it would get as bad as it has.

  • Jure says: (Edit)

    Glory for a new and wonderful world. Children playing in parks as mum and dad sip their coffee in cafe adjacent the park where dogs take XXXX and the owners don't give a XXXX to pick up the XXXX! Thats progress..... Yarraville is established as an industrial reigion, no use changing that. The western suburbs is an industrial estate, no changing that. Those big old storage tanks that are the backdrop to Yarraville should be more of a issue. How close are YOU living to them!

  • adam says: (Edit)

    >Let’s not forget that the Port of Melbourne is Australia’s largest and oldest port How can you compare the existing port with what was originally used, geographically speaking its in a different place. Besides Henty's Pier in Portland is older. Regardless, I fail to see any reason why this is relevant.

  • ReneeB says: (Edit)

    Thanks for the posts Smith, you have successfully repeated what was written in the article. It'd be nice if you and/or Philip Lovel actually addressed some of the issues that led to the protest. Its a shame Mr Lovel's comments were simply an exercise in name calling and slander.

  • MPD says: (Edit)

    Why is so hard? Waive all TOLLS on Bolte Bridge,Citilink etc for all trucks on the condition all heavy vehicle traffic will be baned on Francis St,Somerville Road etc. It was done in Brisbane. No Tolls=No Trucks.

  • Peter says: (Edit)

    I absolutely agree MPD... I feel it's MTAG's job to highlight the problem of trucks using residential streets to avoid tolls... it's the VTA and the transport union's job to lobby for toll waivers. If they were smart that's what they would be doing, if they were smart they'd see the writing on the wall. They are not smart.

  • Helen says: (Edit)

    If you’re a member of an industry group and you’re being interviewed by the local rag (the Maribyrnong Mail) about protests by local residents involving your industry, you’d want to have the best possible shot at winning people over to your cause, wouldn’t you? Local truck driver and fossil Paul Robinson did a marvellous job in the latest edition, managing to insult more than half of the local population. Genius! ...More

  • Bruce says: (Edit)

    Your probably right MPD.... but if the reason trucks use residential streets and not citilink is honestly because of the toll? Thats one of the most infuriating things I've ever heard. SCRAP TOLLS FOR TRUCKS...... maybe it really is that simple. Or..... what about tolls for vehicles over two or three ton, or with more than six wheels on Frances Street and Somerville Rd. Make yourselves some cash Maribynong... think like the "fat cats"!!!! 6000 trucks x $10 = $60,000 a day. 5.5 days x $60,000 = $380,000 a week. $380,000 x 52 = $19,760,000 a year.

  • Simon Gardle says: (Edit)

    I agree with Chris about that last comment.