Has John O’Dowd run out of ideas to ease Belfast’s traffic chaos this Christmas? - The Irish News view

After being under pressure for weeks over the acute congestion in and around Belfast city centre, the minister for traffic jams, John O’Dowd, has now flicked to the chapter on distraction techniques in the well thumbed Stormont crisis management handbook.

On Tuesday he announced that the much-needed upgrade of the A1, which rivals the A5 as our most dangerous road, has reached the procurement stage. The scheme includes four new flyovers and the closing of all the gaps in the central reservation, with work expected to start in 2026.

The timing of the announcement does seem unusually convenient, coming as it does while the minister is under fire; it’s a distraction, albeit a welcome and vitally important one.

Also on Tuesday, Mr O’Dowd said he hoped to soon have more to say about extending the Glider into north and south Belfast. Announcing a possible announcement about a bus route - which won’t be operational until at least the end of 2028 - is perhaps a sign of how keenly the minister and his officials feel the need to try and change the subject from Belfast’s traffic woes.

Has John O’Dowd run out of ideas to ease Belfast’s traffic chaos this Christmas? - The Irish News view

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It does at least mark a change in approach from Mr O’Dowd’s dogged commitment to responding to any commentary, observations or complaints about the congestion with an unhelpful attitude that can be roughly summed up as, ‘Tough luck if your car is stuck in traffic, you should have taken the bus, and what are you moaning about anyway?’

This hectoring tone has got neither Mr O’Dowd nor, more importantly, city centre workers, shoppers and visitors very far.

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Appeals to use public transport have hardly been bolstered by the fact that Metro services have faced heavy disruptions, leaving far too many aspiring passengers wandering the streets like a lost tribe in search of a sacred relic, as they attempt to find their bus stop let alone a bus. It plainly isn’t good enough.

Interestingly, public transport is “not usually a viable option” for Mr O’Dowd, according to his department. Many of the drivers he blames for causing Belfast’s traffic chaos - though he dislikes the term - would surely say the same, though this essential truth seems to elude the minister.

Metro services have faced heavy disruptions, leaving far too many aspiring passengers wandering the streets like a lost tribe in search of a sacred relic, as they attempt to find their bus stop let alone a bus

This points to the fact that for too many people in Belfast and beyond, the alternative forms of transport to the car are simply not good enough.

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Roads expert Wesley Johnston has suggested to this newspaper three ways of easing congestion: cutting bus and train fares, which are too expensive; increasing the number and size of park-and-ride facilities; and investing more in public transport.

We now need to see more actions, and fewer distractions, from Mr O’Dowd and his department.

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