While I would not wish to underestimate the scale of the challenges facing Dublin in tackling its traffic problems, I do not share the collective gloom evident in the recent articles on Dublin's traffic problems in The Irish Times.

The delays in the implementation of the Port Tunnel, of Luas and in the completion of the C ring were well aired in the articles but there was no mention of the progress being made in other important areas. It is essential for the future of the city that the major transport infrastructure projects are completed and the delays are a matter of considerable concern to the corporation.

However, I am confident that these projects will be completed. In the meantime, readers will be interested to know that other measures are being put in place by the corporation to tackle the city's traffic problems in the short term.

These measures are based on a clear recognition that the solution to the traffic problems of the city depends on achieving a significant change in the travel patterns of Dublin's commuting motorists by encouraging a shift to public transport, cycling and walking. The unprecedented increase in commuter traffic in Dublin in recent years has only served to reinforce the need for significant change in travel patterns.

More than 60,000 new cars were registered in Dublin in 1997 alone. A number of important initiatives are being implemented to encourage increased bus use, cycling and walking.

Quality Bus Corridors (QBCs) are being developed on 10 radial routes to and from the city-centre. This involves giving very significant road and traffic signal priority to buses in order to reduce both bus journey times and the variability in journey times.

The success of the QBCs will depend on these bus priority measures being complemented by other bus service enhancements, such as better service frequencies, additional bus capacity, greater through routing, integrated ticketing and reduced delays at bus stops by Bus Atha Cliath.

Strong opposition is being encountered to QBCs from private residents and businesses, primarily on account of the loss of on-street parking, and this has contributed to delays in their implementation. The corporation's approach has been to attempt to address the genuine concerns of residents and local businesses without compromising the critical elements of each QBC.

The Lucan QBC is already in operation and the Finglas, Malahide and Blanchardstown QBCs are under construction. It is planned that all 10 QBCs will be in operation over the next two years. Assuming Bus Atha Cliath can exploit the very considerable additional priority the buses are being given, QBCs will deliver a significant improvement in the quality of the bus service in Dublin.

As further evidence of our commitment to improving the bus service in the very short term the corporation will, over the coming months, be implementing a further programme of 12-hour bus lanes right across the city. In addition, from March of this year, the operating hours of standard bus lanes are being extended and will cover the periods 7 a.m. to 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. Bus lanes in the city will also operate on Saturdays.

The next two years will see a remarkable transformation in the provision for cyclists in Dublin. A network of strategic cycleways is being developed which will give cyclists considerable additional priority, safer cycling conditions and more cycle parking. The focus initially is on the development of cycle routes in tandem with the QBCs.

The lot of pedestrians in the city is also being improved. Throughout the inner city traffic signals are being adjusted to give additional priority, more "green man" time and reduced waiting times for pedestrians crossing the street at traffic signals. This programme of pedestrian signal improvements will be intensified over the coming months.

Taxis and hackneys are an important component of the public transport sector in Dublin. The current approach to the regulation of taxis and hackneys in Dublin is unsatisfactory both from the perspective of service providers and from the perspective of customers.

The four Dublin local authorities are determined to address the complex problems that have traditionally afflicted this sector. The fact that agreement has been reached by the four authorities on a 20 per cent increase in the number of taxi licences as an interim measure is indicative of their commitment in this regard.

THE corporation is pressing ahead with a number of important initiatives in the area of parking policy. The role of parking policy and its potential to influence the level of private car travel has long been recognised. Restrictions on availability and increases in the cost of parking in the inner city will reduce the volume of commuter car journeys.

All "free" on-street parking throughout the central business district and in adjacent areas where there is evidence of all-day commuter parking is being eliminated. This measure will encourage a change in mode by commuters who currently enjoy free on-street parking.

The cost of on-street parking is being increased. Business hours, during which on-street parking must be paid for, are also being extended. Parking meters in the inner city are being replaced by "state of the art" pay and display machines and multi-bay meters.

Responsibility for parking enforcement will transfer from the Garda to the corporation in the first half of this year. Operation Freeflow has demonstrated the benefits of strict parking enforcement. The tender process for the procurement of vehicle wheel clamping and tow-away services in the city is at an advanced stage. The new enforcement services will build on Operation Freeflow.

The corporation is also determined to tackle the adverse environmental and road safety impacts of traffic in the city through a range of measures, including the implementation of traffic calming schemes in the suburbs and the development of a network of environmental traffic cells in the inner city.

Major investment is being made in the city's computer-based area traffic signal control system, in the closed-circuit TV network and in the variable message sign/parking information system.

Restrictions on the period during which road openings may be carried out are being extended. New by-laws will come into effect shortly which will control the use of skips on public roads.

Other initiatives which are currently under way include a detailed analysis of all traffic control measures on key strategic routes in the city and a review of all aspects of the management of commercial vehicles on city streets.

My office is also planning to provide motorists with up-to-date and accurate information on traffic conditions and on parking availability in the city, through an extension of the information pages on Aertel, access via the Internet to our cctv camera system, and a dedicated Dublin traffic/travel radio station.

Road capacity is a very scarce resource in Dublin and it can no longer be allocated on an open access "first come, first served" basis. It is essential if we are to address the city's traffic problems that alternative modes of travel are made more attractive and that private car commuters are discouraged.

The corporation is attempting to achieve this in the short term through the allocation of additional priority to buses, cyclists and pedestrians - an approach that is justified on efficiency, equity and environmental grounds. A range of traffic, parking and enforcement measures is also being implemented, all of which can be expected to have a significant impact on the traffic situation.

In the longer term, implementation of the major transport infrastructure projects is essential. In the short term the measures I have outlined above - inevitably unpalatable to some - can improve the situation.

Ultimately, however, people must accept that the solution to the traffic problems of the city depends on achieving a fundamental change in travel patterns of commuting motorists. Over the past few years there has been a fundamental change in society's attitude to drinking and driving. I hope the next few years will see a similar change in our attitude to commuting.

Owen Keegan is director of traffic, Dublin Corporation