Unbearable truck noise, fumes forcing locals to sell up and move out, action group says

FRUSTRATED locals are selling up and moving out of Yarraville, Footscray and surrounds, unable to stand the constant noise and pollution from truck traffic.

FRUSTRATED locals are selling up and moving out of Yarraville, Footscray and surrounds, unable to bear the constant noise and pollution from incessant truck traffic.

The Maribyrnong Truck Action Group (MTAG) says the problem forces hordesof people out of Melbourne’s inner west each year.

As many as 21,000 trucks use the streets of Yarraville, Footscray and its surrounds every day, with these numbers set to double by 2030.

A former Kingsville resident of 15 years, Kate Wylie said the fumes forced her to pack up and leave her Queensville St home three years ago.

“We could see it was going to get worse … we just needed clean air,” Ms Wylie said.

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She said the diesel fumes in the area were so suffocating, she could not allow her children to walk to Kingsville Primary School.

“It drove us away from our beautiful community,” she said.

Maribyrnong is a hotspot for childhood asthma with more hospital admissions for children with the disease and related illnesses than anywhere else in Victoria, according to the Australian Atlas of Healthcare Variation.

Kingsville resident Eleonora Faraone, who lives on Somerville Rd, plans to move next year due to health and safety concerns for her three children.

“You can smell the fumes, even when the trucks aren’t on the road it doesn’t dissipate,” she said.

Ms Faraone said there have been around 10 trucks banked up outside her home in some instances. She installed double-glazed windows to block out the “extremely loud” noise.

Eleonora Faraone has installed double-glazed windows but says truck noise and pollution is still unbearable. Photo Luis Enrique Ascui

Other residents told the Leader they required specialist earplugs to combat the noise from trucks, while some have said their house walls were deteriorating from vibrations.

MTAG is pushing for Maribyrnong Council to overturn the decision allowing heavy B-double trucks to use Somerville Rd.

Before the decision, vehicles that exceeded 5m in height or width; or were more than 30m in length, had to obtain permits from the council to use the road.

The change was implemented by the council in July last year, as a means to save time on paperwork.

MTAG president Samantha McArthur said opening the road to larger trucks has only worsened the truck crisis in Maribyrnong.

“We are constantly hearing from people telling us they’re getting out, they can’t put up with the trucks any longer,” she said.

Councillor Mia McGregor said the council will review the decision in the next month.

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