Plans are underway to introduce 24-hour clearway zones along one of Melbourne's busiest roads to try to ease traffic gridlock, the Victorian Government has said.
Roads Minister Luke Donnellan said the ban on parking along Hoddle Street would be introduced after the success of similar rules along Punt Road last year.
He said the existing clearways had halved weekend travel times and reduced peak-hour delays.
"As an arterial road that carries approximately 130,000 people each day, 200,000 people crossing it, we simply cannot continue to allocate road space for cars to sit still," Mr Donnellan said.
Construction will also begin later this year on intersection upgrades that will give longer green lights to people travelling straight along Hoddle Street and Punt Road.
There will also be a dedicated bus lane from Victoria Street to the Eastern Freeway. Each day about 1,000 buses travel along the Punt Road-Hoddle Street corridor.
"What we expect by the end of this exercise is we will have clearways pretty much from Eastern Freeway right through to the [Yarra] River," Mr Donnellan said.
Parking alternatives to be considered: Donnellan
He said about 25 per cent of green light time along Hoddle Street was dedicated to people travelling straight through.
Under new changes that will increase to about 50 per cent, but those making right turns will have to wait longer as a result.
"That will effectively give more people more time, and a more reliable journey," Mr Donnellan said.
Mr Donnellan said the Government would work with businesses and locals to find alternative parking.
"We will consult first, we will talk to businesses, we will talk to residents, and we will ensure we can identify that capacity in the surrounding areas to accommodate the needs of those people," he said.
He said the two-month community consultation period for the plan was underway, and there would be disruptions in the coming months as the changes were introduced.
