The improvements in traffic flow in central Dublin since the beginning of Operation Freeflow have been remarkable. The empirical evidence is there for all to see. And now the official figures confirm it. Journey times have been shortened. Bus schedules are running better. And there has been a significant increase in numbers of penalties and cautions issued by the Garda and the traffic wardens.
A number of lessons may be learned from this modest but measurable success. And some of those lessons could have very far reaching implications for the quality of life in the capital. Enforcement works. And if the present limited degree of additional enforcement were to be increased it would work better. Moreover, the citizenry are happy to have the laws enforced. The traditional ambivalence has largely faded and the moral weight of public opinion now bears upon the offender.
Unhappily, Operation Freeflow has only been applied to the central city area. The suburbs are arguably worse than ever. Anyone endeavouring to pass through Donnybrook, Ranelagh or Phibsboro in these hectic days requires above average qualities of patience and endurance. All of the usual suspects are still loose and unhindered the delivery men who prefer to use the main street rather than the back entrance the infuriating customer who runs to the bank or the butcher "for just a minute", leaving the car on the yellow lines with the lights flashing the double parker who finds it an inconvenience to go to a side street or a car park.
What Operation Freeflow has shown is that in spite of the increasing concentration of cars in the city and in spite of poor public transport, considerable improvements can be brought about merely by altering public behaviour. More rigid enforcement will not obviate the need for improved public transport, for the completion of Dublin's ring road system or for the diverting of heavy traffic out of populated areas. But it would be interesting to see the effects of extending this experiment throughout the city as a whole
It does not require the diverting of gardai from important crime duties. Traffic wardens can be appointed on a temporary basis if needs be. And vehicle removal can be contracted out. An additional twenty or thirty tow wagons working the suburbs would produce wonders. Indeed, the issuing of clamping devices to immobilise offenders' vehicles would also be effective. The ticket on the windscreen is not always an adequate deterrent. Few of them are paid. And fewer again lead on to court action.
Tackling the worst excesses of the capital's endless traffic nightmare as distinct from solving it in its fundamentals does not necessarily involve money. As well as enforcement, a little imagination would go a long way. Simple regulations governing the hours for goods deliveries would do much to keep the arteries open during peak traffic times. And it should be possbible to devise a simple system of varied road tax rates which would regulate hours of access to designated areas. A top rate of car tax could allow universal access at all times. A lower rate would ensure that drivers who can avoid busy areas at peak times would do so.
As a first step, let it be hoped that the success of Operation Freeflow will not end with the old year, that it will continue through 1997 and that it will be extended in area.