Motorists in Dublin may face charges for road use

"Road-pricing", the controversial system whereby motorists pay to use certain roads, may be introduced in Dublin city-centre if current anti- congestion measures are not successful, the Minister for Transport, Mr Brennan, said yesterday.

Speaking at the opening of a conference on traffic management issues in Dublin's Mansion House, Mr Brennan said that the measure would have to be looked at if present levels of congestion continued.

However, a number of other measures may be introduced first. Many of these were demonstrated at yesterday's conference, which was jointly organised by Dublin City Council, the National Roads Authority, Trinity College Dublin and the Departments of Transport and the Environment.

On show, in effect, was the future of traffic management in Dublin. Some of the measures are to be implemented immediately and others are part of longer-term planning.

In the future, traffic flows into and out of Dublin city-centre will be monitored more closely. At certain points along each route the registration plates of vehicles will be read by "intelligent cameras". As well as keeping a constant check on the flow of traffic, these cameras will record the behaviour of drivers who break the law.

The cameras are either perched high above the street or at street level, where they are concealed in vandal-proof containers. Secure Vision Systems, a company based in Co Down, displayed its range of unobtrusive cameras at the conference yesterday. A spokesman for the firm said that these cameras were operating successfully on the streets of Belfast.

The scheme whereby rows of red lights are strung across pedestrianised streets to warn drivers against entry is to be extended. More visual signals are also on the way in the form of flashing speed signs. These will display the speed of a vehicle as it approaches the sign. The intention here is to remind drivers to observe speed limits where these are in force.

Dublin City Council's director of traffic, Mr Owen Keegan, told the conference that the numbers of parking spaces in the centre of Dublin city were "not really being restricted". However, priority was being given to wheelchair-accessible vehicles and to taxi spaces. Parking meters were priced to give the motorist a "choice" between bringing cars into the centre of Dublin or using public transport.

Mr Keegan said that, for the first time in 50 years, the public transport share of the market was increasing, while private car share was decreasing.

Mr Conor Faughnan, spokesman for the AA, who had initially been critical of the quality bus corridors, told the conference that these had worked well. However, commuters were not being given the option of walking to the nearest QBC and boarding a bus, since some of these parking areas were a considerable distance from bus stops.