A Ballinrobe councillor is calling for an ‘Operation Free-flow’ to be put in place for the grid-locked town.
Cllr Damien Ryan told a meeting of the Mayo Joint Policing Committee that traffic chaos every Friday is grinding the South Mayo town to a standstill.
He said traffic issues can occur daily but Friday afternoons are a particularly problematic pinchpoint.
“It is desperately bad on a Friday,” said Fianna Fáil Cllr Ryan.
He said every Friday from 1pm to 5pm the town becomes impassable. He pleaded with the Gardaí for help to alleviate the traffic flow situation and urged them to consider an ‘Operation Free Flow’ operation on Friday afternoons.
He said he has health and safety concerns about the issue and stated that no town in the county has a problem as bad as Ballinrobe’s.
Cllr Ryan was supported in his call by fellow Ballinrobe councillor Michael Burke.
Chief Supt Ray McMahon said Gardaí will lend their support. However, he is concerned that Garda assistance will only go so far. The Chief Supt asked if Gardaí are putting a sticking plaster on what is “essentially an engineering issue”. He said he did not believe officers on the street would ultimately solve the problem but said he would examine a traffic management operation to “get us over the hump”.
