EXTENDED CLEARWAYS TO EASE BELL ST CONGESTION
Clearways on Bell Street will be extended from 24 May, between the Tullamarine Freeway and Sydney Road, in a move to improve traffic flow and bus travel times on one of Moreland’s busiest roads.
Member for Pascoe Vale, Christine Campbell said that this is part of a VicRoads plan to reduce delays to Bell Street buses.
“The Brumby Government is taking action now to build a better transport system, so people can spend more time with family and less time in traffic”, Ms Campbell said.
“We know that Bell Street becomes very congested at certain times of the day – leaving bus passengers and motorists caught up in traffic when they would rather be somewhere else”, Ms Campbell said.
“Extended clearway times will improve bus services by ‘freeing-up’ road space so that traffic can move more smoothly”.
“There are usually just a few cars parked on Bell Street, but with the amount of traffic using this road, it only takes a few to cause long queues of traffic as drivers try to get around parked cars – delaying a huge number of commuters”, he said.
Clearways will be 6.30am – 7pm, Monday to Friday, except between Bruce Street and Kendall Street where clearways will be 6.30am – 10am and 3pm -7pm, Monday to Friday.
New parking and clearway signs will be installed on Bell Street, between the Tullamarine Freeway and Sydney Road, to alert drivers to parking changes.
VicRoads urges drivers to carefully check signs when parking to avoid being fined or having their car towed.
Melbourne’s most popular bus route – SmartBus Route 903 - has been running on Bell Street since April 2009.
17,000 passengers per day use Route 903, a high frequency bus service that runs from Mordialloc to Altona via Doncaster, Heidelberg, Coburg and Essendon.
VicRoads sought community feedback on these clearway changes late last year.
More changes will follow later this year when peak hour clearways and bus lanes are installed on Bell Street, between Sydney Road and Nicholson Street, Coburg.