The trucks at Beit Dagon
at himThe restrictions on the movement of heavy vehicles in the lower city of Haifa have been lifted in the morning and evening hours, in what was defined as a "pilot" program for the reduction of pollution from transportation. Now the regulations that determine are the restrictions on polluting vehicles only.
As a reminder, as part of the pilot of the program to reduce pollution from transportation, a restriction was placed on the movement of heavy vehicles in the lower city. Now, when the extensive plan has been launched, the restrictions on the movement of polluting vehicles have been updated. Restrictions that refer to all hours of the day and limit the movement of vehicles that do not meet the pollution standards established in the plan.
Trucks at the entrance to Beit Dagon. Photo: Nega Karmi - lives here in the field
The district judge in Haifa, Rivi Lamelstrich-Letter gave validity to a ruling for the compromise agreement for the resumption of the movement of grain trucks in the lower city of Haifa
This brings to an end a struggle, which lasted 8 months, between the Haifa Municipality and the Union of Marine Transport Users. During this period, the movement of grain trucks from Beit Dagon to flour mills, mixing plants and food factories was restricted during the morning and afternoon hours.
Last night (Sunday), a judgment was given to the settlement agreement in the petition submitted by the Union of Marine Bulk Transportation Users of Grains and Fodder on February 8 this year, through its attorney, Adv. Today - in the morning and in the afternoon.
The legal process, which was led by the Association of Bulk Shipping Users, began back in January 2016 and we reported on it in detail in the Mtsab article:
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According to the compromise agreement, the restrictions imposed by the Haifa municipality in January on the movement of grain trucks in the lower city of Haifa, as part of the national plan to reduce pollution in the Haifa Bay, have been effectively lifted, and as of November 15.11.2016, XNUMX, the movement of these trucks will resume - according to the settlement outline - at all hours of the day.
Reminder: this is how the project in the lower city got started (which was actually a "pilot" of the wider program)
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Attorney Brockman clarifies today: The current arrangement is an interim arrangement, at the end of which the municipality intends to apply, instead of the restrictions in their current form, other and up-to-date restrictions, as part of a clean air plan, for the movement of non-polluting vehicles in the lower city. Since, as a general rule, the trucks transporting grains are not polluting (according to the criteria established by the Ministry of Health), there is no reason left to keep the current restrictions on them.
You can read more details about the plan to reduce pollution from transportation, which is being led by the Haifa Municipality in cooperation with the Ministry of Defense, here:
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Eli Sion, the chairman of the union, clarifies today: "Through the Dagon silos, located on Independence St. in Haifa, about 3.25 million tons of imported grains are processed, which make up about 60% of the grains consumed by the national economy in Israel. The grains are mostly transported by trucks, which usually carry 40 tons of grains each. For traffic restrictions, that were imposed in January, had consequences for the food production chain for humans and animals in Israel. Unfortunately, prior to the imposition of the restrictions, no preliminary inspection procedure was carried out with us, no national priorities were set; and no appropriate alternative solutions were formulated and implemented. The absurdity is that if anyone had bothered to check with us in advance, they would have Discovers, from the beginning, that according to the standards, the trucks that transport the nuclear charges - are not polluting. This is a factor that was known in advance, only no one agreed to listen to us at the time. 8 unnecessary months of legal proceedings and expenses for all parties (the Municipality of Haifa, the Port of Haifa, the Yaffe Nof company - the faith in the traffic regulations in Haifa and we are the members of the union). This saga could have been avoided in advance and reached directly with us to suitable arrangements, without forcing us to resort to legal relief."
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The Haifa Municipality responded:
The resulting compromise guarantees that only vehicles that meet the standards of the "Clean Air" program will be allowed to enter the city of Haifa and shows that this is not an unnecessary saga, but an important agreement that guarantees the principles of the program even before it came into effect.
Another important party to the agreement is the Port of Haifa, which has committed within the framework of the agreement to allow free passage of trucks without cargo, a move that will lead to a significant reduction in the number of trucks passing through the lower city.
In accordance with the agreement, the petition of the "carriers" union was rejected and the traffic arrangement remained in place - only vehicles that present to the Haifa municipality a special certificate that they meet the criteria set forth in the "Clean Air" program, which set strict standards of the Ministry of Transportation and are non-polluting, will be allowed to enter the underground city. It is worth noting that within the framework of the agreement the "carriers" union stated that it accepts, starting from this moment, the "clean air zone" program as approved by the city council.
The response of the Chairman of the Association of Carriers, Gabi Ben Harosh: I welcome the court's decision and regret that it is necessary to go to the courts, and despite this I want to cooperate regarding the pollution and truck load during peak hours.I led a move that entered into the traffic regulations called "Lila Tov", the regulations allow a customer who opens his business at night to receive a return of 100 NIS or more for each transport. (It is important to note that the truck drivers and the transport companies do not receive).
Beit Dagon is open and works in 3 shifts 24 hours so I would like to take advantage of the installation in a city like Haifa (in the lower city) where so much is invested in galleries and restaurants and if we want to maintain some quality of life it is important and worthwhile to route the trips to the night hours, it could alleviate air pollution and congestion The unbearable during the day. Government offices must know how to appreciate the professionals who come with the intention of optimizing, it's a shame for the time and money wasted in 8 months of litigation.
In conclusion: As the chairman of the trucks it is important for me to point out that in most cities in Israel I have reached a parking arrangement outside the city and the only place that has not yet reached an arrangement unfortunately is the city of Haifa
The project manager's response: In September 2016, a plan to reduce air pollution from transportation was approved by the Haifa City Council. The execution of the plan will be possible after the installation of a municipal by-law which will give the local authority the necessary powers to enforce the plan. Apart from this plan, there is today a traffic arrangement that limits the movement of trucks over 12 tons, in the lower city, during rush hours only.
In order to reduce air pollution from transportation in all residential areas and prior to the approval of the municipal by-law, the municipality decided to allow an exception from this arrangement to anyone interested in applying the program to reduce air pollution from transportation in a voluntary manner, that is, any truck powered by diesel, Euro 4 or higher.
An exception to the existing arrangement will be made according to a special approval procedure for the entry of trucks.
There will be a separate announcement regarding the starting date of the aforementioned proposed change and its details in the coming days.
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