Pity the unfortunate Dublin motorist - pity indeed, the entire travelling public - as the Minister for Transport, Mr Seamus Brennan, and the Dublin City Council try to unravel the knots of confusion in which the capital's new traffic plan has been enmeshed.
Last week the city council and the Director of Traffic, Mr Owen Keegan, announced a radical new plan to reduce motorised traffic through the city centre by diverting it to two newly-designated "orbital routes". Within days of this announcement, the Department of Transport let it be known that the city authorities were, in effect, on a solo-run.
Officials of the Department are concerned that the signs for the new arrangements violate national regulations. Informational signs should not be presented in colours which are reserved for warning indicators. Fair enough. The Department is also concerned, it seems, that some of the signs are confusing. The man or woman on the omnibus or the traffic jam, having had some sight of them, might be inclined to agree with the Department. And tourists - Heaven help them - must be utterly bewildered.
Now the signs are to be taken down. Meanwhile, the Department is anxious to give its "full support" to the traffic plan as such. No firm figures have yet emerged as to the likely costs of replacing and redesigning the signs.
It is greatly to be hoped that the substance of the traffic plan will be implemented and supported. The concept is right and the city council and the Director of Traffic have been brave and visionary.
Its success, of course, depends on the performance of the other players in the transport and traffic drama that is daily life in Dublin. The Garda must enforce the rules and keep the traffic moving along the new routes. Dublin Bus must ensure that the city centre is adequately served by frequent and reliable services. It would be regrettable if an unfortunate start were to lead on to turf wars between central and local administration.
The layman stands baffled by what has happened over the signing system. It is to be assumed that there are procedures laid down for such matters. Somebody, somewhere, jumped the gun, whether intentionally or otherwise. The taxpayer, as usual, will have to foot the bill, one way or another. And the city commuter - using whatever mode of transport - will reflect ruefully that this is no way to run a modern city.