Despite the huge publicity campaign which preceded them, the recent changes to traffic flow in Dublin city centre have caused confusion to motorists, and some increases in congestion in other areas.
The "new traffic management arrangements" introduced on April 2nd removed the left turn at the bottom of Dawson Street on to Nassau Street, and the right turn from South Great George's Street on to Dame Street, closing off key access routes from the south side of the city across O'Connell Bridge to the north quays.
AA Roadwatch confirmed that despite "a huge effort" to make people aware of the changes, there had been some confusion as drivers became accustomed to alternative routes and found detours.
Ms Emma Caulfield, the controller of AA Roadwatch, said: "There was a huge amount of signage, and we broadcast it on the radio for the week".
There were also signs on the approaches to the city centre and leaflets were sent to houses in the city.
The Society of the Irish Motoring Industry also said it was "getting a lot of feedback from the public, who are extremely irate at it".
Its deputy chief executive, Mr Alan Nolan, said that while the organisation recognised that the new strategy was important for the health of the country and for traffic in the future, a lot of the changes were premature, and "targeted at making life difficult for motorists" without offering them real alternatives.
Cutting off through-city access was based on "the mistaken view that they [motorists] have a choice," he said, adding that trying to force people to abandon their cars by making their lives a misery would not work.
Ms Caulfield said the diversions meant traffic on Pearse Street, always very heavy in the evenings, had worsened with the extra volume of cars from the closed routes, and Dame Street traffic was heavier throughout the day.
However, Dublin Corporation's director of traffic, Mr Owen Keegan, said he was very pleased with how the changes had been implemented, although he accepted there was still some work to be done as a number of opportunistic motorists were still using the turns.
He said there had been a "pronounced reduction" of traffic in areas such as Suffolk Street and northbound in O'Connell Street, and generally alternative routes had dealt with the added load well. He did accept that there were some problems with Pearse Street, but said they were "nothing more than on any very busy day, and there are a few things we're going to do about that".
The changes were designed to stop people driving through the city centre as a route between destinations, allowing people who wished to use the city for shopping or work to do so more easily.
Dublin Corporation said that it would complement £3 million in "environmental improvements" in the area between Grafton Street and South Great George's Street by reducing the traffic flow and allowing improvements in bus priority, pedestrianisation and cycling facilities.