Haifa Municipality announcement:
The last obstacle to completing the sequence of beach promenades has been removed: the process of demolishing a wall at the Navy Yard has begun
On Sunday 14/10/18, the Haifa Municipality began the demolition of the wall at the Navy Yard that was established during the British Mandate period and completes the sequence of beach promenades.
In the Bat Galim neighborhood of Haifa, a historic moment was recorded today [1] with the start of work to demolish the historic wall, which has surrounded the mythological training base of the Navy since its establishment during the British Mandate for the Royal Navy.
With the demolition of the wall, the barrier that prevented residents from crossing the seashore for decades will be removed for the first time, and thus a connection will also be created between the two urban bathing beaches, which until now were disconnected from each other - the quiet beach and the Bat Galim beach.
The removal of the buffer is possible thanks to a precedent agreement, signed between the Municipality of Haifa and the Ministry of Defense, under which the area previously used by the Navy was transferred to the ownership of the Municipality of Haifa. With the removal of the buffer, the municipality will begin the construction of a new boardwalk, when access to the sea for boats will be possible under the bridge that will be built in the center of the boardwalk.
The boardwalk will be built through the "Yapa Nof" company. The works for its construction will start already this week and will last for about a year. The new boardwalk, which will connect the historic Bat Galim boardwalk to the quiet beach, will be illuminated with unique and economical LED lighting and will include, among other things: a bicycle path, a pedestrian path, and unique seating and observation areas towards the Gulf of Acre, the Galilee Mountains, and Rosh Hankara. Along the length of the boardwalk grass surfaces will be integrated and extensive gardening works will be carried out. In addition, fitness facilities will be built along the boardwalk, and a wheelchair plaza will be built instead of the historic parade ground.
The opening of the coastal strip to the sea and the construction of the new boardwalk is part of the implementation of the "Urban Seafront" plan, as anchored in the national outline plan [TMA 13/3/a] and approved by the government, together with the understandings reached on the subject with all the relevant parties, including This is the port of Haifa and the navy. The sea front, which upon completion will include beach promenades, open public areas and tourism, entertainment, commerce, leisure and recreation buildings, alongside a residential complex, is being carried out in stages simultaneously with the gradual evacuation that has already begun of various port activities, including the withdrawal that the Navy is currently carrying out from the line of the sea in Bat Galim.
The Mayor of Haifa, Yona Yahav:
"The demolition of the wall symbolizes a historic moment and the final stage in implementing the goal we set for ourselves, to liberate and develop the coastal strip, which is a public asset of paramount importance. After establishing Hecht Park and Shikmona Park, renewing the Carmel Beach promenade, the Student Beach and Kan Beach, we are now faced with completing a continuum of walking and cycling along the entire city's coast."
It was not easy to release the coastal strip of the navy base, but fortunately we had the cooperation of the Ministry of Defense and the navy personnel and with a lot of goodwill we reached agreements thanks to them the area passed to the ownership of the municipality or was returned after nearly 100 years to the general public, who will be able to enjoy it as a unique site with an area A one-of-a-kind observation in the country."