Maribyrnong Truck Action Group
Press Release
Maribyrnong Truck Action Group applauds plan to take trucks off streets
After years of campaigning, the Maribyrnong Truck Action Group is today celebrating the announcement of the Brumby government’s plan to build a route from the Westgate Freeway to the port.
“This is what we have been lobbying for since the inception of MTAG,” said Peter Knight, “it really is great that the government has listened to the community.”
MTAG’s advocacy for the Westgate/port link was given a huge vote of support in the Eddington East West Needs Assessment study and has since also been endorsed by the Victorian Transport Union and a wide range of community groups. “It is the right decision,” said Mr Knight, “it will bring great relief to a huge number of residents and will also allow freight to move more efficiently.”
MTAG is, however, keen to emphasise that it understand the on/off ramps will be a cause for concern for a number of residents located near the planned route. “We see our role now here as advocating for good outcomes for those residents and also for Stony Creek Nature Reserve, which is located near the Westgate Bridge,” said Peter Knight. “We have already begun discussions about these matters and at each stage have found the government to be responsive and open to our suggestions and concerns.”
While MTAG is celebrating the commitment to building the Westgate on/off ramps it is concerned about the alignment of the proposed tunnel under Footscray. In the plan at present the tunnel entrance/exit is in West Footscray, which would be a disaster for residents. “We intend to lobby the government to have the tunnel come out further west past the residential areas of West Footscray. Minister Pallas has indicated a willingness to listen to residents with regard to the alignment of the tunnel.”
“We have developed constructive working relationships with government at local and ministerial levels and look forward to working positively together during the development phase of these projects.”
December 8, 2008 at 5:34 am
Is this route correct?
What do they mean by ‘truck expressway’? Does it mean trucks only?
December 8, 2008 at 6:29 am
it’d be great if you guys would do something to help us out. i assume our house will either be knocked down or be on a 24-hour truck route. neither of those will be much fun.
December 8, 2008 at 11:10 am
Where do you live Andy?
December 8, 2008 at 11:35 am
I live on Francis Street between Hyde and Williamstown Road, and I will be a major beneficiary of the transport proposal and I applaud the Brumby government, MTAG and the TWU for their parts. But we must concede that the handful of homes on Hyde (North Douglas Parade) south of Francis Street will be uninhabitable. These residents can’t be left to pay the toll for all of Yarraville and surrounding areas which are set to benefit.
December 8, 2008 at 2:15 pm
It’s a purpose built truck route that will go down Hyde to Francis then to Whitehall. Trucks will not be able to use Hyde North of Francis as the bans on that part of Hyde will remain in place, there will also be bans on Somerville. Andy, we will certainly be working fro now on to help you out. I have been speaking with the community liaison person from DOT and we should organise a meeting with her and concerned residents in the near future.
December 8, 2008 at 2:27 pm
From my brief reading of the plan there are still some details to be sorted out in the planning phase. Hopefully something can be done for the adversely affected residents.
The half-dozen or so houses south of the Footscray Road Bridge on Whitehall St should also be included with those on Hyde St in terms of any compensation as they are also on the route.
In terms of protection for other residents of trucks going off the route there needs to be some work done. This includes (at least) ways to stop trucks from cutting up Hyde St north of Francis (as already mentioned) but also up Whitehall north of Footscray Road.
The latter one runs the risk, in my opinion, of becoming an attractive alternative route for trucks between the Westgate and Citylink via Dynon Road unless this is specifically banned.
The plan also seemed to only mentioned extending truck curfews and bans on Francis St and Sommerville Roads. This is a pitty as there are plenty of other residential streets affected in the area.
December 8, 2008 at 2:48 pm
>It’s a purpose built truck route that will go down Hyde to Francis then to Whitehall.
Is it TRUCK-ONLY? If so, I think thats a big win.
And if it doesn’t require realignment along Hyde Street, north of Francis Street.
December 8, 2008 at 3:44 pm
I live at the end of Beverley Street near Hyde Street Reserve. Very concerned about the noise the off ramp will bring. I hope the road is walled and noise iunsulated.
One question: I can see from the plans how truck get off the Westgate to join Whitehall but won’t they still need to use Francis Street to get to the Williamstown Road Freeway entrance?
Paul
December 8, 2008 at 4:09 pm
FYI- affected residents
Vicroads have advised that it is still in early planning stages. There is meant to be letter being hand delivered today or tomorrow re the proposal but as yet there is no alignment details. Vic roads are hoping to have meetings as they want to work with the community.
December 8, 2008 at 5:54 pm
Peter, What bans are they now considering for both Somerville Road and Francis Street? I note that the bans on Hyde Street will still exist North of Francis Street but as previously mentioned in some comments how will these bans be policed to ensure they occur. Will it be a matter for Vic Roads or the local council to plant trees in the middle of the road or lay speed humps etc to discourage trucks to use these routes and to stick to the 24 hr truck higway?
December 8, 2008 at 10:47 pm
The principal freight network outlined in the companion plan “Freight Futures” on page 26 is not pleasing:
http://www4.transport.vic.gov.au/vtp/pdfs/freightfutures.pdf
Francis St and Somerville Roads are not included (because of the new ramps) but Whitehall St right up to Dynon is included. This is terrible news for these residents whose street is no less residential than the others but who will continue to get more, not less trucks.
December 9, 2008 at 8:45 am
Luke, we’re on Globe St, just off Hyde south of Francis. We did get our letter yesterday, and spoke with VicRoads. I guess it’s kind of out of our hands now. We’d be very interested in going to any meetings.
December 9, 2008 at 12:37 pm
Dylan how many homes are in that section of Whitehall St ( I dont live in that area) and isn’t it already a major truck route?
December 9, 2008 at 1:26 pm
Erica,
A couple of dozen houses, there are several blocks of apartments and a new one going up at the moment. It is surrounded by other residential streets as well – i.e. it is hardly an industrial area.
It is a truck route and an OD route but that section of the street is not part of the Docklands highway and it is certainly not as major a route as Francis St is now. It does not have service lanes (it is no Geelong Road), it has street parking, houses built right to the road and many original houses 100+ years old. To top it off it is a very steep hill which greatly increases the noise (and probably the pollution) made by the roaring engines.
The issue I have is that this new “truck expressway” will cement in our residential street as a very major route 24×7 with no future relief. It will also be an attractive through route to avoid Westgate/Citylink. This is not reasonable considering that residents on the more major routes that are similarly residential (e.g. Francis, Sommerville) will be receiving a 70% truck reduction as part of the plan.
This plan should not proceed without a specific route to take trucks across the Maribyrnong south of the residential areas. This was originally proposed by both MTAG and the council but it has gone missing. Without this addition the plan will be a win for some residents but an absolute nightmare for others.
December 9, 2008 at 1:47 pm
Can someone please clarify: are the ramps only off ramps (no entry ramps) from the Westgate? I can’t possibly see how the entry ramps will work.
December 9, 2008 at 1:49 pm
They’re going to need to cut through botht the golfcourse and the ovals to make on ramps work
December 9, 2008 at 2:08 pm
If the Government acquired some of the tanks from mobil they could go straight through Mobil land cross Hyde Street on an elevated road down by the Creek by passing the homes in Hyde Street south of Francis. It would also eliminate trucks going through the Hyde/ Francis lights.
December 9, 2008 at 2:17 pm
I count 7 homes on Whitehall between parker and footscray rd.
December 9, 2008 at 2:19 pm
Appreciate all the input and we’re are trying to get across the implications of the proposal.
DOT is keen to meet residents to discuss concerns and we will certainly be lobbying to make sure residents get good outcomes.
The idea that the truck route would continue right up Whitehall to Dynon sounds very odd, have to look into that.
They are on and off ramps there will be some encroachment into green space I think but we are told negotiations are already underway with golf course to work out where and how that can be made up.
More soon…
December 9, 2008 at 4:39 pm
Yes John, there are about 7 houses on the Docklands Highway part of Whitehall Street, between Parker and Napier (Footscray Road). The North-bound part of the Docklands Highway runs past their house. The southbound part of Docklands runs down Moreland street.
Dylan was talking about the couple of dozen houses and about five apartment blocks that are on the section of Whitehall North of Napier (Footscray Road).
The link that Dylan has posted has a more concerning map on page 50. It includes the Northern section of Whitehall in the Principal Freight Network. Strangely, it doesn’t include the southern section.
Does anyone have more information on the long B-Doubles that will only be allowed on certain routes for a trial?
December 10, 2008 at 1:09 pm
To me it looks like the government is more interested in keeping the trucks off the Westgate Bridge, not off the streets of Yarraville. The trucks should be made to use the Westgate Bridge and City Link, and banned from all residential streets.
December 11, 2008 at 10:24 am
Hi Andy, I’d be interested to hear what was in your letter.
December 16, 2008 at 1:32 pm
An interesting article on compulsory acquisitions:
http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,,21600128-5012854,00.html
December 17, 2008 at 9:13 pm
Its clear that MTAG have moved truck traffic from Francis St. and Sommerville Rd., but can they advise the residents that now face tunnels, and freeways if the plan to help or was MTAG just a self serving group from the start.
No Freeway From West Footscray could and should have your excess money that you have raised from locals over the years.
Help them or shoudl we all be looking back at Joan Kerners report and her gift of France’s Street to the Fedral Road network all those years back… Its still a Fedral Hwy.
December 17, 2008 at 11:24 pm
MTAG’s clear position is that it doesn’t support the tunnel as currently planned because it will result in many more trucks on residential streets including Geelong Rd and the western end of Sunshine Rd.
To clarify what’s planned and possible for the on-off ramps. They are planned to be both on and off ramps for traffic to-from the west – ( ie not heading towards the city) which will intersect with Hyde St next to each other. In the current plans this intersection is planned to be north of the freeway – ie in the stony creek reserve. The on ramp for traffic heading west will then fly over the freeway to join the road.
What would be possible would be for the ramps to intersect with Hyde St/ Douglas Pde south of the freeway at/ near the Simcock Ave intersection. ( in this case the ramp coming in from the west would need to fly over the freeway.) This would require some acquistion of land that is currently the spotswood mobil tank farm ( not to be confused with the Yarraville mobil tank farm at the corner of hyde st and francis st)
This configuration would mean stony creek reserve would be completely unaffected and the on-off ramps would be further away from the residential areas in yarraville south of francis st.
It wouldn’t put them any closer or further away from the residential area of spotswood and the golf course ( the plan here close to williamstown rd is to have the new ramps above the existing williamstown rd entry-exit ramps.
I’m also really concerned about the designation of the stretch of whitehall st north of footscray rd as part of the prinicipal freight route – its totally unnecessary. Pallas was non- committal at the no tunnels meeting tonight _ i wondered whether he understood the issue. This stretch of whitehall st is a residential street which needs to have truck bans on it, just like hyde st north of francis st. We need to lobby council to make sure it takes a very strong stand on this.
December 18, 2008 at 1:30 am
Nice work Matt… great contribution.
Fact is I have more to lose personally from the tunnel configured as it is than from all the truck traffic on Francis St as I quite close to the planned exit/entry in West Footscray. And self serving is not how I would describe the people in MTAG who have given up thousands of their hours in this campaign to serve their community.
But anyway I guess you need someone to vent at so unpaid community volunteers must seem like a nice soft target. Good luck to you mate.
December 18, 2008 at 8:39 am
Peter, thank you for speaking at the meeting last night. I’m sorry that the behavior of some people was so impolite.
Janet, thank you for your comments. It may take some more lobbying from Whitehall Street residents for Tim Palace to understand the difference between the residential and non-residential sections of Whitehall Street. I’m writing him a letter with a very clear map.
December 18, 2008 at 8:57 am
Building ramps from Westgate will not mean that more trucks will be moved to other suburbs.
As an MTAG member I also do not benefit from Westgate ramps and less trucks on Francis Street. Tunnel will go under my residence in Footscray and I will be very near entrance on Dynon Road and possibly be affected by ventilation stacks.
MTAG has always made it clear that we oppose Trucks on residential streets in all areas not just Yarraville and Footscray and all our submissions to government have emphasised this.
I’d happily refund any of your money that you have put in Matt but you are allowng yourself to be wedged by Labor on this issue. By attacking us instead of doing something constructive by lobbying Tim Pallas you are doing his work for him
December 18, 2008 at 5:16 pm
I would just like to add that along with the hours donated by MTAG members we have all along been transparent in our campaigning and have from the start invited ALL Maribyrnong residents to take part in our campaign. As mentioned previously MTAG never suggested at any point that a tunnel should be built which would spew freight traffic into a residential area.That is against everything that MTAG stands for. Matts reaction sounds to me like a “not in my back yard” response that is quick to apportion blame in the wrong quarters. A more productive response would be to liase with (or join!) MTAG and utilise the skills and knowledge that we have acquired after years of lobbying the government. Don’t buy into what will essentially be a divide and conquer maneuver designed to weaken our community.
December 22, 2008 at 8:54 am
Paul, your comments are gold for me as Iam thinking of purchasing my first home in Beverly street.
I would like to know if the noise/ the electrical post and the special use bare land in Beverly street will effect me in a negative force.
Any comments will be appreciated. thanks.
December 22, 2008 at 8:56 pm
I live on Sunshine Rd and the tunnel will be a disaster for me and all the residents in this pocket, as well as residents in the Kingsville pocket. Noise, pollution, long term health risks etc. We do already get quite a bit, I can’t imagine the expected rise at my doorstep, impossible.
I understand Mtag is against the tunnel and any truck traffic in residential areas, but why is the government still not listening? I have done everything possible (that I know to do, facebook group, writing letters to everyone, meetings etc.) trying to get my voice heard which obviously doesn’t work. Yet they are still insisiting on keeping trucks in our streets, haven’t they learnt it just does not work and will be a disaster in the future.
I regret buying a house in this suburb, especially this road, We will clearly and have already lost money on values and even if I now wanted to move, it would be impossible with such uncertainty. I feel helpless and my future is now looking very bleak…… What a sad outcome for everyone living the inner west.
December 24, 2008 at 3:24 pm
Indy, sorry I don’t have answers for your questions.
Angela, the construction of the tunnel (if it goes ahead), is a long way off and the configuration is not decided. We just need to keep up the pressure to make sure the voices of residents like you are heard. It’s going to be a long fight…
December 28, 2008 at 4:35 pm
If the tunnel does proceed Angela, yes you will be affected and have no legal right to any form of compensation.
Its similar to the Yarraville residents whom are affected by the off-ramps.
There are two types of winners, those who benefit from less traffic and those whom have their homes acquired. The SOLE losers are those whom have this problem pushed onto their area receiving ZERO compensation and suffering SIGNIFICANT PERSONAL LOSS.
Perhaps you could send a letter to the council to have your house re-valued to APPROPRIATELY reduce your rates? Mayor Clarke from Maribyrnong REFUSED to respond to requests in the Yarraville area for those affected.
January 12, 2009 at 4:36 pm
Has anyone received a copy of the letter yet and can post it here?
February 3, 2009 at 10:22 am
Our house backs on to Williamstown Rd between the Westgate Fwy and Francis st. Our stretch of road is never mentioned in documents, protests etc yet we bear the same amount of truck traffic as Francis St without been covered by a curfew.
I am concerned if the new off ramps proposed are in the same place as the ones currently as that will only direct more trucks in our direction, including the ones that are currently doing the right thing and using the Bolte.
February 3, 2009 at 9:40 pm
Thanks for your message Suzanne, when the ramps are built the traffic you experience will drop by more than 50%. (The official predictions are more like 70%).
February 5, 2009 at 9:53 pm
Suzanne, I live in a similar stretch to you and share your concerns. I currently hear more noise from the Westgate Fwy than I do from Francis St as the wind seems to constantly blow up the mouth of the Yarra towards our house carrying the noise from the bridge. The ramps will bring the traffic even closer and the noise from the exhaust brakes and engines as they ascend and descend the ramps will be unbearable.
MTAG must now support those resients who will be disadvantaged by these ramps (those along Hyde and those who live between Francis St and the Westgate). We should be seeking noise insulation barriers and investment in planting in Hyde St Reserve.
For most of you who are only thinking of Franics St I invite you to come down towards the end o one of these Streets (Beverley, Hughes St, etc) and see where th nise we experience is coming from. We will not be compensated for this or for the loss of parkland.
I agree with Janet Rice’s suggestion to move all construction south of the freeway – but given Vic Roads will look for the cheapest option I doubt they wil wish to acquire additional commercially zoned land. They will probably just cut a huge swath through the reserve.
Wake up MTAG – what we now have are even more trucking routes through our neighbourhood!
February 5, 2009 at 10:01 pm
I encourage everyone to have a look at the area these ramps will destroy:
February 6, 2009 at 8:24 am
The ramps will NOT destroy this area. They will be constructed in a manner that preserves this habitat. This development is a great opportunity for Stony Creek if the creek’s advocates choose to seize it.
More importantly, what the ramps WILL do is take trucks away from primary schools, houses, childcare centres etc. Remember, asthma levels in these truck affected areas are THREE TIMES higher than those for residents in the rest of Melbourne.
Let’s keep a perspective here…
February 6, 2009 at 4:45 pm
Thanks Bill. I feel better to have had your reassurance that the construction will be in a “manner that preservers this habitat”. It would be great if you could share the information you have on the proposed design and construction techniques as I’m having trouble picturing how a “Truck Super Highway” through there is going to protect the habitat and aesthetics of the Reserve!
Advocating for Hyde Street Reserve should not rest solely on the shoulders of park users and the Friends of Stony Creek “should they choose to seize it”. I hope MTAG, who has been instrumental in this decision, will continue to advocate for the best possible outcome for the Reserve and the residents who will be adversely effected by these ramps. I
I have posted this picture to remind people of what’s at stake here – and that the battle is not over. Can MTAG provide any details about the community consultation process with Vic Roads and what concerns it will be addressing with them? How can residents contribute to this process? I don’t wish for the Vic Roads engineers to arrive and simply plot the quickest and cheapest path through the Reserve. I have concerns regarding noise insulation and compensation to the community for the loss of parkland and the golf course.
I’m well aware of perspective thanks Bill – I will have a lovely “perspective” of these ramps from my front door. I accept there will be health benefits to the greater community – no argument there (but thanks again for the statistics) – but please don’t lose sight of the fact that there’s still a lot of work ahead to optimise this decision for residents near the ramps.
February 6, 2009 at 8:30 pm
You’re quite right Paul there’s a lot of work to be done to optimise the decision and it’s being done. MTAG members have been advocating strongly for residents and for the Stony Creek in meetings with government and Vicroads. We will continue to do so.
February 6, 2009 at 10:04 pm
Thanks Peter
I know you’ve been working hard. Please let me know if there is opportunity to contribute to the discussion with Vic Roads.
March 16, 2009 at 1:34 pm
I live on Hyde Street, south of Francis. I would be very interested in being involved or looped into any discussions/updates with Vic Roads regarding these plans.
Peter, are there any discussions currently planned with Vic Roads that the public can be involved in? Also, do you know if Vic Roads has a timeline for the release of any updated plans for the ramps?
cheers
March 16, 2009 at 9:19 pm
They just had a big information session tonight
I was unable to attend but I’m sure the content will be made available.
April 18, 2009 at 4:18 pm
As an update on the Principal Freight Network, we received a letter back from Vicroads (in response to a letter to the minister) that confirmed that the northern part of Whitehall St is indeed part of the Principal Freight Network.
It went on to justify this inclusion and state that it was not possible to utilise Sims St or Dock Link road instead as they were “at capacity”.
So I take this to mean that we will expect to see a growth in trucks on our residential street and we are very unlikely to ever get even curfews (let alone daytime bans). Also as “Freight Futures” indicates that trucks will be encouraged to travel more at night on the PFN we will have even more trucks at night too.
This is a real blow to the residents of Whitehall St.
April 19, 2009 at 5:05 pm
Perhaps there should be lobbying for an upgrade of Sims St or Docklink Rd to take traffic off Whitehall St north??
April 21, 2009 at 11:06 am
Hi Bill,
Good idea but I don’t really know where to start. It was like pulling teeth to even get a confirmation that the street was on the PFN.
I am frustrated with the Government because they made this decision without consultation of the community and at the same time that they are out there proclaiming to be taking trucks off residential streets.
April 22, 2009 at 9:55 am
Well you are off to a good start with getting something in writing. Keep the dialogue going. Put in writing all the things that are wrong with using Whitehall St north, backing it up with facts and figures – numbers of people affected etc – and propose a solution. Get a petition happening and have a meeting with council and state government. Write letters to the local paper. It’s time consuming but it’s the only way.
May 8, 2009 at 6:24 pm
Hi our home backs onto Francis St just near the railway over pass.
Is there somewhere we can understand what effect this Off-Ramp will have on our home.
Earlier today I was advised by someone that there is an intent to “expand” Francis St, not sure how that expansion will be fulfilled.
Also whilst I appreciate all the work that Mtag have done to reduce Truck traffic on Francis St. A few nigths ago my partner was walking along Francis St, pulled hi camera phone out to take a few photographs of the trucks driving along after curfew (don’t ask me why???) anyway … a number of drivers gave him the finger etc which was expected, however one decided to pull his truck over, got out and started chacing him down Ballarat Street, shouting at him “I’m local traffic” …
I have no idea why the police are intent on parkign their busses on the Willy off-ramp to do randon booze/drug checks but could just as easily set up a camera on Francis Street and make a killing in fines from the night time illeagle trucks.
If anyone can suggest some actions I can take, as I would really like to stop this abuse of the curfew, the council and the police are truning a blind eye …
May 10, 2009 at 2:41 am
They’re probably not breaking the curfew unfortunately. The definition of ‘local truck’ is so broad it’s ridiculous. Hopefully that will change.
Good news for you is that when the ramps are built you should experience about a 70% drop in truck traffic in your vicinity