Council escalates push for Kensington truck bans

The City of Melbourne will intensify its push for truck bans in Kensington after new monitoring showed significant numbers of heavy vehicles are using local streets to avoid West Gate Tunnel tolls.

At its July 21 Future Melbourne Committee meeting, councillors unanimously endorsed an alternative motion calling for stronger mitigation measures to protect Kensington, North and West Melbourne, Southbank and other inner-city neighbourhoods affected by changed freight movements since the tunnel opened in December.

The council report confirmed that while traffic patterns in North and West Melbourne had largely aligned with expectations, Kensington had experienced an unexpected increase in heavy vehicles on local streets through Epsom Rd and Kensington Rd. Officers said analysis suggested some trucks were avoiding toll points on the West Gate Freeway and tunnel, instead using local roads to reach their destinations.

Acting general manager infrastructure and amenity Karen Miller told councillors the data showed “three times as many trucks in Kensington” after the tunnel opened, with vehicles appearing to leave the freeway and travel via Geelong Rd, Epsom Rd and Kensington Rd towards the port.

According to the council, traffic counts completed in March and April found almost three times as many six-axle heavy vehicles per day using Epsom and Kensington roads compared with the same period in 2025. Macaulay Rd was found to have a similar number of heavy vehicles per day compared with 2025.

The council will now seek 24/7 truck bans on Kensington Rd between Dynon Rd and the intersection of Epsom Rd and Macaulay Rd, as well as time-based truck bans for certain vehicles on Epsom Rd between Racecourse Rd and the Kensington/Macaulay Rd intersection.

The Epsom Rd proposal would align with existing Macaulay Rd restrictions, which prohibit trucks between 7am and 7pm Monday to Friday and 7am to 1pm on Saturday, while exempting vehicles above 3.7 metres due to the height limit at the Racecourse Rd rail bridge.

The alternative motion also strengthened the council’s position on Macaulay Rd, requesting an unconditional truck ban for the local section of the road in Kensington and North Melbourne. Macaulay Rd is Kensington’s main high street and is already subject to restrictions, but its current exemption allows over-height vehicles above 3.7 metres to use the route.

For residents, that exemption has become one of the major flaws in the current system.

Kensington Association chair Dr Kate Kennedy told councillors the community had been warning about truck impacts since the West Gate Tunnel planning process began.

“In 2016 the association was involved with making original submissions to the West Gate Tunnel project,” Dr Kennedy said. 

She said the over-height exemption on Macaulay Rd was not a true truck ban, but more like “a deterrent policy” for trucks that might otherwise become stuck at Newmarket rail bridge.

“I just wonder, with keeping that on, are we just going to be then sending trucks through Epsom and Macaulay Rd?” she said.

The issue has become increasingly urgent in Kensington, where the council received a petition in March signed by more than 1000 community members concerned about heavy vehicles on Kensington, Epsom and Macaulay roads following the tunnel’s opening.

Resident Ben Herbert, who helped drive local advocacy on the issue, welcomed the council’s acknowledgement that Kensington had experienced unintended truck impacts, but asked for clear timelines and a stronger advocacy strategy to ensure the state government acted quickly.

In one significant development during the meeting, Ms Miller confirmed the Department of Transport and Planning had approved changes at the Epsom Rd, Kensington Rd and Macaulay Rd intersection, which would prevent certain long vehicles from making the turn onto Kensington Rd.

When Mr Herbert asked whether 19-metre vehicles would soon be legally prevented from turning onto Kensington Rd, Ms Miller clarified the restriction applied to 17-metre vehicles and confirmed the answer was yes.

“That’s an even better result,” Mr Herbert said, adding that it would give residents and businesses a clearer basis to challenge operators using Kensington as a rat-run.

Kensington Business Association president Sean McConville said enforcement would be critical, warning that signs alone would not stop trucks.

“Truck bans are not effective without enforcement,” Mr McConville said, pointing to Francis St in Yarraville, where he said camera enforcement had led to hundreds of fines and changed truck behaviour.

He said Macaulay Rd’s existing signage “doesn’t work”, with trucks still seen daily along the strip.

The alternative motion specifically calls for truck ban conditions and enforcement in the City of Melbourne to match those used in Hobsons Bay and Maribyrnong, including the use of no-truck-zone cameras.

Lord Mayor Nick Reece said the West Gate Tunnel was having a clear impact on local streets.

“Blind Freddy can tell you that,” Cr Reece said. “But in the world of good transport and infrastructure planning, we do need to build evidence bases and have data to support major investment decisions.”

In additional comments, Cr Reece said the opening of the West Gate Tunnel had been accompanied by truck bans on seven roads in the western suburbs and that the city wanted similar measures in the inner city.

“We will not stand by and allow big trucks to use our local streets like highways, putting our community at risk,” Cr Reece said.

The council will also seek a 24/7 truck ban for Kavanagh St in Southbank and ask the Lord Mayor to write to the Minister for Roads in support of additional mitigation measures.

Speed reductions also form part of the response, with the council successfully advocating to DTP for 50km/h limits on parts of King, Victoria and Spencer streets. Further speed reductions from 50km/h to 40km/h on local streets in Kensington are expected over the next six months.

The council is also seeking corrected advisory truck route information on DTP’s website to direct freight away from Kensington, while continuing to advocate for long-term solutions to reduce through-truck traffic across Melbourne.

The broader response sits within the $100 million Transport and Amenity Program, a joint initiative between the City of Melbourne and the Victorian Government designed to fund local upgrades and manage neighbourhood impacts caused by the West Gate Tunnel.

Following the tunnel’s opening, DTP established a six-month monitoring period to allow traffic to settle into normal patterns, during which ongoing work on planned TAP projects was paused. DTP is expected to release the monitoring findings on the TAP website in September, with the council expecting paused TAP projects to be approved to proceed.

The meeting also exposed ongoing frustration over tree replacement commitments linked to the tunnel. The report revealed 891 trees were removed within the City of Melbourne, creating a shortfall of 2971 trees against the promised five-to-one replacement ratio.

Council officers argued that because of limited urban space and the high cost of street planting, a canopy-based approach would deliver better outcomes. But the alternative motion makes clear the council will only shift away from pursuing the five-to-one ratio if Victorian Infrastructure Delivery Authority Roads fully funds the alternative program, including council labour costs, to double the lost canopy within three years.

“Focusing on canopy cover will deliver the best outcome for our inner-city streets,” Cr Reece said.

“By aiming to double the canopy lost through the West Gate Tunnel Project, we’ll continue growing our Garden City and create greener, cooler streets by 2040.”

The council’s stronger message is welcome news for Kensington residents. Truck bans, cameras, turning restrictions, lower speeds, TAP funding and tree replacement are now all part of a more forceful push to ensure the tunnel’s impacts are not simply shifted onto local streets.