Hoddle St ‘bottleneck’ to become an all-day clearway

MOTORISTS will be free to travel on all lanes of sections of Hoddle St and major bottlenecks will be eased under a plan to create all-day clearways.

MOTORISTS will be free to travel on all lanes of sections of Hoddle St and major bottlenecks will be eased under a plan to create all-day clearways.

VICTORIAN ROADS MORE CONGESTED AS 500,000 EXTRA VEHICLES HIT THE ROADS IN 5 YEARS

The move to ban parking 24 hours a day, seven days a week on the major arterial road will cut travel times during evening peak by five minutes and morning peak by three minutes.

Weekend travel times could be slashed in half.

An artist’s impression of the new clearways on Hoddle St.

A dedicated bus lane will also be created between Victoria St and the Eastern Freeway during all hours, cutting travel times for commuters by seven minutes. It comes after 24-hour clearways were created on Punt Rd, further south, last year.

Commuters have been calling for the government to end conges­tion on Hoddle St-Punt Rd, which is the most pressured arterial road in Melbourne.

Every day 40,000 cars — and 330,000 people — use the road.

Victorian Roads Minister Luke Donnellan said 24-hour clearways would significantly ease congestion.

Victorian Roads Minister Luke Donnellan. Picture: Yuri Kouzmin

“Around-the-clock clearways, smarter intersections and state-of-the-art technology will make a real difference — cutting traffic jams, reducing delays and keeping people moving on Hoddle St and Punt Rd,” Mr Donnellan said.

“Extending the Hoddle St clear­ways will end the frustration of getting stuck behind a parked car on our state’s busiest arterial road and give people a faster, more reliable trip.”

The move to 24-hour clearways on Punt Rd has halved travel times and reduced delays outside peak times.

Figures show it now takes motorists five minutes to travel between Alexandra Ave and High St, on a Saturday — compared with 10 minutes previously.

VicRoads has found that Hoddle St also experiences ‘peak’ traffic at lunchtime and on weekends. Picture: Mark Stewart

During the afternoon school pick-up, the same stretch of Punt Rd has had journey times slashed from 13 minutes to five minutes.

The move to extend the parking ban to Hoddle St is expected to have a similar result. It is also estimated the extra clearways will cut the number of accidents.

A VicRoads investigation has found that the 314 car parks along Hoddle St and Punt Rd were only used half of the time. It said there were enough other car parks — 6000 in surrounding streets — to allow for 24-hour clearways on the road.

VicRoads has found that Hoddle St also experiences “peak” traffic at lunchtime and on weekends.

[e-mail]

@Gallo_Ways