Once in a while in Northern Ireland there’s occasion to raise an eyebrow that a decision has finally been made; there’s not usually a lot of them going around.
Taxis will be permitted to use some bus lanes in Belfast city centre in a bid to ease traffic congestion in the final few days before Christmas.
It’s a decision — and not a particularly radical one — that could have been made several weeks ago when commuter and shopper frustrations over the gridlock strangling the centre of Belfast started to build.
It’s no long-term panacea, though. Indeed, the measure is only temporary solution to the headache that has been harming the welfare of city centre businesses during the busy Christmas period, a headache that wasn’t eased by the pausing of roadworks around the city.
Often, problems require quick solutions — but that’s not something the political system in Northern Ireland has ever been particularly good at.
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Infrastructure Minister John O’Dowd says he is “committed” to administrating measures which “help alleviate the traffic congestion in the city centre”.
One such measure would be to cut the cost of travelling on buses and trains, giving customers an economic reason not to take the car. The more people who do that though, the worse the public transport experience would likely become.
Last weekend, SDLP MLA Sinead McLaughlin posted a photograph on social media, taken on a train heading through Ballymena en route to Belfast. It was standing room only for the journey.
People do try to use the network, but too many find it unfit for purpose. And depending where you live, trains might not even be an option.
Issues have also arisen in the past few weeks around bus services failing to operate as timetabled across south Belfast, leaving commuters late for work or facing lengthy journeys by other means.
And the reality of yesterday’s decision is that buses will now have more traffic, not less, to contend with.
What Belfast is facing is a perfect storm of issues over transport — and it’s a storm that isn’t going away.
To speed up traffic, speedy decisions have to be made. A commitment to a long-term viable plan would really be the best Christmas present.
It is, of course, heartening to know that so many people do wish to get into the city centre; retailers have come up against many issues in recent years, so these people will be welcomed with open arms.
But trying to get there and actually getting there aren’t quite the same thing.