2017-10-20
Ms PENNICUIK (Southern Metropolitan) (12:41:45) — My constituency question is for the Minister for Roads and Road Safety, and it is in regard to the recently announced truck curfew trial along Beach Road, which is going to commence on 4 November. I know Ms Fitzherbert has raised this issue a couple of times in the chamber, seeking information that has not necessarily been forthcoming, including the community surveys and the truck count done by VicRoads, which I believe still has not been released. I notice that VicRoads is setting up a consultative group this week while the curfew trial is in place. My question to the minister is: apart from stakeholders, how is he going to ensure that the community, which hitherto has been locked out of information regarding this extended curfew, will be included in those consultations?
ANSWER on 15 December 2017:
VicRoads engaged with the community via an online survey in March 2017 to help understand experiences and concerns about the existing truck curfews. Prior to this, data was collected to understand the level of truck activity along the corridor. All of this information can be found on the VicRoads website.
Since then, VicRoads has consulted with stakeholders including the Cities of Kingston, Bayside and Port Phillip, Victoria Police, Victorian Truck Association, Victorian Ports Corporation, and. Spirit of Tasmania operators about truck use along the Beach Road corridor and curfew arrangements. These stakeholders will also work together during the trial to review and provide feedback on the trial, as well as collect data.
In early 2018, it is anticipated that data will be collected as well as feedback sought from the broader community, as part of the evaluation of the trial. The stakeholder group will review the results to evaluate the effectiveness of this trial, and influence how truck movements along the Beach Road corridor will be managed in the future. Results of the trial will be carefully considered in mid 2018 before determining whether any permanent changes are necessary.