Melbourne truck curfew underway

The school drop-off/pick-up times join a general curfew on Somerville Road between 8.00pm and 6.00am weeknights and 1.00pm Saturdays to 6.00am Mondays, and applies to the section of the arterial between Geelong Road/Princes Highway to the west and Whitehall Road to the east.

Other curfews on Yarraville's Francis Street and Seddon's Hyde Street will continue.

Drivers making deliveries to or picking up from businesses within a defined 'exempt area' (the shaded area on the accompanying map) may proceed past the truck curfew signage provided they are carrying documentation proving they have legitimate business in the area.

Drivers who flout the restrictions face an on-the-spot fine of $148.

The Moore Street curfew alone is expected to take 400 trucks a day off the road.

Local advocacy body Maribyrnong Truck Action Group has welcomed the changes but vowed to continue its work.

"We know that most residents in the inner west are still massively impacted by excessive truck traffic and MTAG will continue to advocate for the whole of the inner west," write the body on its website.

"Ultimately we need infrastructure to support Australia’s busiest port and we will continue to work with State Government and Council to see this delivered with best possible outcomes for residents."

Truck traffic is a contentious issue in Melbourne's inner west, as transport companies strive to meet the increasing demand from the Port of Melbourne – Australia's largest and busiest container port.

Victoria's Labor Government's promised West Gate Distributor project would see a road link constructed between the West Gate Freeway and the port, taking a claimed 5000 trucks a day off the traffic-choked West Gate Bridge and easing local truck traffic throughout the region.

VicRoads has said it will conduct a truck and traffic survey across Footscray and Yarraville in the near future to assess the full impact of the latest round of truck curfews.