Developers to Be Hit with Occupancy Charge for Blocking Traffic

The Victorian government will charge developers thousands of dollars if they clog up busy roads under a trial to be introduced to bust congestion around building sites.

From Friday, private developers who occupy road space and traffic lanes on arterial roads through the City of Yarra will incur a weekly charge that is scaled to the proportion of disruption caused.

The charges will range from $1200 to $1865 per lane and have been set in consultation with Victoria’s Valuer-General.

The trial aims to encourage shorter disruption for commuters and smarter construction methods.

Currently, most local governments charge developers who set up construction equipment, scaffolding or worksites in traffic lanes. This trial extends those arrangements to cover arterial roads.

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Revenue from the three-month trial will go towards the management and improvement of the road network through the development of road surveillance teams, to improve worker and community safety and increase CCTV.

“Drivers know how frustrating it is when construction clogs up road space, shutting lanes and causing bottlenecks across important routes – this trial will encourage them off the road, where possible, to keep traffic moving,” Minister for Roads and Road Safety Luke Donnellan said.

“This road occupancy trial will charge people who make a profit out of blocking important public roads and traffic lanes which should be kept free for everyone to enjoy.”

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VicRoads deputy chief executive Robyn Seymour said that a road occupancy charge has been successfully trialled in London, boosting traffic flow by 21 per cent and reducing congestion on heavily trafficked routes where a road occupation charge is in place.

Transport for London is implementing an ongoing lane rental scheme after the end of the trial.