Sir, - Your editorial on the Freeflow Winter Campaign (September 4th) is ill-conceived, apart from being wide of the mark on several fronts.
Freeflow is a year-round campaign co-ordinated by the Dublin Transportation Office on behalf of the Dublin local authorities, An Garda Siochana and Dublin Bus. There are many elements in Freeflow, of which enforcement is only one, albeit the major one. The proposal for a winter campaign was approved by the DTO steering committee as far back as May on the basis that traffic would not be a problem during the summer months but that a gearedup operation would be required once the summer holidays were over. This office has proceeded to give effect to that mandate.
Your suggestion that the winter campaign is "codology" implies collusion by the combined agencies of the DTO to delude the public and I reject that. On the contrary the DTO has succeeded in getting operational co-ordination between the key agencies to ensure better traffic management in the city. As a part of our mandate we will continue to monitor their performance.
Enforcement in all its aspects is of course the key to a successful operation. However the absence of a day-long Garda presence in Pearse Street or in Fleet Street does not mean that Freeflow is not working, nor does it mean a lack of commitment by the Gardai. Freeflow can be measured only by the extent to which the city streets are relatively free of congestion and this is the position inside the canal cordon. Outside this cordon Freeflow can have only a marginal effect and no amount of money thrown at the problem will change that. A more responsible attitude by the motoring public and a shift to public transport would significantly improve the situation.
For the record, I have an assurance from An Garda Siochana at the highest level that the deployment of resources for the Freeflow Winter Campaign which were announced last week will be maintained. - Yours, etc., JOHN F. MAHONY, Chairman,
DTO,
St Stephen's Green,
Dublin 2.