O'SULLIVAN CALLS FOR OPERATION FREEFLOW FOR LIMERICK FOR CHRISTMAS TRAFFIC

Limerick T.D Jan O' Sullivan is calling for the implementation of a traffic management system akin to Operation Freeflow, which was used in Dublin for many years to keep traffic moving at Christmas.

The Labour T.D said:

"There is gridlock on our roads at the moment due to wet weather and extra volumes of traffic on the main roads around the city".

"The Government should sanction the deployment of extra Gardaí to keep junctions and yellow boxes clear at this time of the year. In the past probationary Gardaí were deployed from Templemore to police the roads".

The Limerick T.D continued:

"The Childers Road, Dublin Road and roads around the Crescent Shopping Centre are choked at the moment with rush hour traffic at a virtual standstill and this will only worsen as we approach Christmas.

"The Parkway Roundabout is a case in point where the yellow box junction is frequently blocked making it very difficult to exit the shopping centre".

"While I understand the need to get more people out of private cars and into a more sustainable mode of transport, something needs to be done now to ensure traffic is kept safely moving at this time of year".

"Operation Freeflow was first introduced by the then Minister for Environment Bredan Howlin in December 1996 and the key objective was to ensure that traffic laws were enforced such as keeping junctions, bus lanes and yellow boxes clear.

"The Government and relevant authorities including An Garda Síochána and Limerick City and County Council should now act to ensure there is a robust plan in place to deal with Christmas traffic".