The Garda Siochana is assuming "total control" over the management of peak-period traffic in the Dublin area in an effort to deal with rapidly increasing levels of congestion.
The Garda Commissioner, Mr Pat Byrne, announced the initiative called "Operation Artery" yesterday at a press conference in the Garda Club. It also came as news to Dublin Corporation, the city's roads authority.
Essentially a reorganisation of the Garda Traffic Division under Chief Supt Jack Behan, who will now assume the title of Regional Traffic Controller, it is designed to "enhance the Garda's role in traffic", according to the commissioner.
Under the initiative, which he said had his "solid and wholehearted support", the metropolitan area's traffic division has been split into six sectors extending outwards from the city centre, with boundaries drawn to reflect traffic flows on the main arteries.
During peak periods, from 7 a.m. to 10 a.m. and from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m., the Garda response to traffic congestion will be co-ordinated from its command and control centre at Harcourt Square, with conditions monitored from the air by a Garda helicopter.
Each of the sectors will be staffed by one sergeant and five gardai from the divisional traffic unit and another sergeant and five gardai on motorcycles.
They will all report to a Garda inspector from the regional traffic unit, based in Harcourt Square.
The commissioner said he was not claiming that this reorganisation of resources was "the panacea" for relieving traffic congestion.
"I don't know if it will work. But if it doesn't, we'll try something new," he said.
Mr Byrne said the "extreme increase" in the volume of traffic was "quite obvious to everyone" and there was only limited road space in the city to accommodate all the cars. Capacity for general traffic had also been reduced by quality bus corridors.
There were more cars than houses in Dublin, he said. "We're trying to do our level best to ensure that traffic moves more freely. It's important to say that we're focusing on the arteries to get traffic into and out of the city as quickly as possible."
Neither Dublin Corporation nor the Dublin Transportation Office were represented at the press conference.
Asked whether the Garda was co-ordinating its initiative with them, Assistant Commissioner Jim McHugh said they were "fully au fait" with it.
However, it is understood that the corporation's Director of Traffic, Mr Owen Keegan, had no advance knowledge of the plan. A spokesman for the DTO said they were aware of it and welcomed it as an extension of Operation Freeflow.
Senior corporation officials have noted a renewed Garda concentration on traffic issues in recent months. "It would appear that they are trying to reclaim their authority in this area," one source said, adding that it was doubtful the strategy would work.
According to the source, the Garda is "obsessed with traffic flows" and seemed to believe that it could relieve congestion "by throwing gardai at it". At the same time, the corporation had been told unofficially that gardai in its traffic control centre were to be withdrawn.
Asked whether freeing up traffic might result in more commuters using cars, contrary to public policy, the Garda Commissioner said his force had to "manage and control the traffic as best we can". Restraint measures were a matter for other agencies.
Chief Supt Behan said Dublin was "heading towards 400 cars per 1,000 in population", largely due to the economy. The M50 was now carrying 80,000 vehicles a day, though he did not mention that 70 per cent of peak-hour users were commuters.
