Sort out this Papal traffic fiasco now

WE are just three weeks away from the visit of Pope Francis to the World Meeting of Families, and there is total confusion surrounding the logistics of the event.

Coach companies have yet to be told where they will be able to park, and whether there will be food and hygiene facilities available for the bus drivers, while attendees are being advised to leave their cars at home and get to the main events at Croke Park, in Knock and the Phoenix Park, on public transport.

But will sufficient transport be available? Will there be shuttle services available from satellite sites outside the capital? Well, we don’t know that either.

This is the biggest event the country has seen since Pope John Paul II’s visit 39 years ago. It is ironic that, in the information age, we know less at this stage of the planning than we did back then, when people were told about their buses and trains months in advance.

No one will want to bring a car, as there have been warnings that Mass-goers in Knock may have to walk 16km to and from the shrine, something that would be beyond many of those attending. That is why someone needs to lead this project from the front, marshalling the arrangements and making the specifics known.

If people insist on coming in their cars, they need to be reassured there are car parks and a shuttle service capable of dealing with tens of thousands of people at four or five approach points.

We need to be told in plenty of time that there’s a plan worthy of the name to deal with this gigantic headache.

There are many things the Lord can provide, but we need someone a little closer to home to sort this particular mess out.