Night/Weekend Curfew exposed as sham

The Francis St curfew was announced in response to public outrage over the 12,000 trucks per day using the residential streets of Yarraville. Over 700 angry residents marched in a protest rally from Yarraville Gardens to the Community Centre on February 23rd.

The Yarraville Residents Traffic Group (YRTG) organised the protest rally to show the government that residents are tired of living with the hazards of 12,000 trucks using our residential streets each day. The extensive media coverage and community pressure forced the government to act. Bruce Mildenhall announced the ‘night and weekend through-truck Francis St curfew’ on the day. However, the announcement lacked any detail and met with scepticism by the YRTG. A blockade was subsequently organised for the 18th of March.

A last minute meeting was called by Bruce Mildenhall’s office in an attempt to avert the blockade. At the meeting, promises were made by the government to include petrol tankers in the through truck curfew if the YRTG cancelled the planned blockade. The definition of ‘through trucks’ would be as follows: Trucks without an origin or destination within the areas bordered by Cemetery Rd, Westgate Freeway, West side of Hyde St, west side of Whitehall St, Maribyrnong River, Ballarat Rd, and Geelong Rd. As a sign of good faith, the blockade was cancelled.

When the Francis St curfew was put in place on April 4th, the government’s deceptions were exposed. The biggest surprise was the inclusion of both the East and West sides of Whitehall St in the ‘local truck’ definition. This means that most of what had been agreed to as ‘through trucks’ are now considered ‘local traffic’. A large proportion of trucks travelling through Yarraville from the east side of Whitehall St carry 40’ containers, hazardous chemicals, fertilizers and dangerous goods. To add insult to injury, a sticker system to identify local trucks is to be instituted, seemingly offered as reassurance to residents. The reality is that the stickers will not be difficult to counterfeit, and penalties for curfew breakers are too low. The penalty for trucks caught breaking the curfew - $105 and no loss of demerit points.

The rate paying citizens of the West have again been deceived by the Premier Steve Bracks, the Transport Minister Peter Batchelor, MLA Bruce Mildenhall, the Maribyrnong City Council, and Vic Roads. The YRTG is all too familiar with the government’s use of vague terminology and political rhetoric intended to delay the resolution of this important health and safety issue.

The facts remain:
1. 12,000 trucks per day travel down residential street, many avoiding CityLink tolls.
2. The Melbourne Ports and Coode Island expansion projects will compound the problem with increasing truck traffic.
3. The health and safety of our community is at risk.

The YRTG has had a steady influx of new members recently, and despite a run of setbacks, is dedicated to reclaiming basic standards of health and safety in the community.