More than 10,600 vehicles were towed from peak-hour clearways within a 10-kilometre ring of Melbourne’s CBD in 2013-14.

And VicRoads is warning drivers the number will climb in the next 12 months, after the Napthine government increased funding for clearway patrols from $1.4 million to $2.5 million in 2014-15.

Some of inner Melbourne’s busiest roads were blitzed by tow trucks last month, ending a more permissive recent phase in VicRoads' policing of the problem.

Sydney Road in Melbourne’s north, for example, had 95 vehicles towed in July, up from just nine in June, and 64 for the first six months of the year. The High Street that goes through Malvern and Armadale in Melbourne’s south-east, where illegal parking in clearways is prolific, had 126 vehicles towed in July, up from 32 in June.

VicRoads spokeswoman Kerilyn Wyatt said drivers who park in peak-hour clearways were "selfish", causing traffic jams and safety hazards.

“Many of us have experienced the frustrations caused by an illegally parked vehicle blocking one lane, effectively reducing the capacity of the road by 50 per cent,” Ms Wyatt said.

“The message to Melbourne drivers who think it is OK to illegally block a clearway is, watch out. We are patrolling the clearways and your vehicle will be towed if parked illegally - every other driver on the road shouldn't be stuck in traffic caused by one selfish driver.”

VicRoads enforces peak-hour clearways on 75 arterial roads within a 10-kilometre radius of the CBD. Clearways in the cities of Melbourne and Port Phillip are separately policed by councils.

The City of Melbourne towed away more vehicles in 2013-14 on the 13 roads it patrols than VicRoads - 4875 compared to 4288. The City of Port Phillip towed 1483 vehicles from its streets. The fee for collecting an impounded vehicle is $322.

Traders along one street being targeted in the blitz lashed out at the tougher new stance, complaining that peak-hour clearways hurt retailers and were a blight on a vibrant community.

Claire Perry of the Sydney Road Brunswick Association said the peak-hour clearways benefited passing traffic at the expense of local traders.

"It's terrible for business;the street dies and it just becomes a traffic sewer, with cyclists riding along trying to stay alive as well," Ms Perry said. "People want to stop to pick up a few things on the way home and the community is kindly shopping local but they're taking a risk and it's costing them a fortune."

Peak-hour clearways became a political issue before the 2010 Victorian election when the Coalition sided with local councils, who protested against Labor's decision to extend clearway times.

Transport expert Professor Graham Currie, of Monash University's engineering faculty,  said the Napthine government's decision to boost funding for clearway patrols indicated it had moderated its stance on the issue, although he said the views of traders still held sway.

"Clearways took a big hit under the new government when they first came in ... and many were converted back to parking," Professor Currie said. "So we’ve gone backward on that issue, and the traders take it as a win."

Clearways were particularly important along tram routes, to stop trams getting stuck in traffic, he said.