Bar Giora Street is in the Hadar Elion neighborhood, and you can reach it from Hapoel Street. The street is parallel to Hess and Montefiore streets, which are above it and is two-sided, only in part. According to the residents, the road was built in the 30s and has not been renovated since then. Necessary repairs were made to it, and you can see side by side the repair next to what was in the original.
The beauty is hidden behind the neglect
The residents claim that the potential of the street is enormous, it has houses in Hawass with historical value and a lot of vegetation, but the neglect of the road, the sidewalks and the parking problems prevent residents from noticing the beauty of the street.
Shiri Oren and Ofer Fix have been living on the street for many years. Ofer lives on 12 Shana Street and is a key activist in the Hadar Carmel Council. Shiri has lived on the street for 10 years. One of the things that bothers them on the street is a wall, which has cracks, which almost cross the wall into several parts. They say that they have contacted the municipality many times regarding the wall, since they clearly see that the wall is in danger of collapsing, but the municipality claims that the wall is owned by the tenants of the building.
"Two weeks ago, municipal workers came and put a fence here, we have no doubt that if, God forbid, the wall collapses, and residents pass by, they may be harmed.
We are very disturbed by this."
Throughout the visit to the street, the strongest feeling that arises from Shiri and Ofer is the anger that there is no more investment in the street.
"There was a square in the middle of the street and we asked to whitewash around it. After the plastering, we asked to use the area to build a playground, and the municipality said there was not enough space for a playground. They told us they would make floor games. 7-8 years ago, two municipal workers came here to make floor games . They played two single games on the floor and never came back. That's how it stayed all these years."
The crumbling road - years of neglect
The road on Bar Giora Street has not been renovated for decades
You can see in the curb stones of the sidewalk how many years the road has been standing like this unchanged. Over the years, repairs have been made to the road, so the road is currently not at a uniform height.
There is a great parking shortage on the street and the private parking lots are few, so during the day car owners park on the sidewalks. The result is that those who want to walk along the street must go down to the road and walking on a road with potholes and potholes is not easy. Of course, the problem is more complex for parents with strollers and those with disabilities.
Buses get stuck and cannot pass
There is a serious parking problem on the street. Shiri and Ofer talk about the fact that sometimes you have to go around and around until you find parking, especially if you arrive in the evening. Many car owners park on the sidewalk and the result is that sometimes buses get stuck and cannot continue driving because the street is only partially two-way and becomes narrow, when there are vehicles that park on the sidewalk and go down to the road.
The perforated sidewalk - a challenge for pedestrians
The sidewalks are broken
Shiri and Ofer claim that one of the problems they face on the street is the condition of the sidewalks. According to them, the sidewalks are broken and endanger those walking on the street. In some cases there are vehicles on the sidewalks and then pedestrians cannot enjoy the sidewalks at all, even if they are broken. In many places along the street you can see that part of the sidewalk is comfortable and allows easy passage, but part of the sidewalk is broken and crumbled and it is impossible to walk on it safely.
It is very difficult to raise small children on Bar Giora Street
Shiri also says that it is very difficult to raise small children on the street.
First, there are no sidewalks that you can walk on with a stroller and no nearby playgrounds. The nearest playground is on Tzipora Zeid Street. In addition, most parents do not send their children to educational institutions in the neighborhood.
dirty and smelly
Ofer and Shiri also complain that the street is very dirty, the sidewalk stinks and there is no pruning. There are places where it is difficult to walk on the sidewalk because of untrimmed vegetation.
A planter in the middle of the road - the horticulture is not sufficient
One of the things that contribute to the beauty of the street is a planter, which is located in the middle of the road and has plants and trees. Shiri and Ofer claim that the residents work in the community garden, but the planter is not regularly maintained. According to them, it cannot be seen as seasonal flowers and it could have been much more beautiful and contributed much more to the street.
Where were Mitzna, Yahav??? Leave you all heads up were horrible. At least in the last year parts of the street were renovated.
Hahahaha... and on the other hand, the property tax you pay is also murderous... the highest in the country...
The sad truth is, that since Abba Hushi there hasn't been any real adequate mayor in Haifa
Shame on the municipality that collects 1200 shekels in property tax and on a street like this, it's time to move the cliche aside, it's time to change to a responsible and professional adult who knows how to manage systems, knows how to carry out work plans to manage systems, it's time for a mayor who sees her residents and quickly
In Hadar Alyon because of a "parking crisis" which is actually a "good public transportation crisis" the practice of blocking entire sidewalks for parking has taken root as we see in the pictures. And on the other side there are also parking lots with two wheels so that a pedestrian can hardly pass, Mrs. Hila Lauper, maybe instead of the beach, try to pass with a wheelchair in such streets and check if it is even possible - maybe it is more urgent to treat???
But the populism of the city council is "not to upset the residents of the street who park as they please" and that's how it is in every neighborhood. This means that vehicles go up on new sidewalks and break the bumps, blacken them, litter the sidewalk, block them from passing for strollers and wheelchairs, and also ordinary people, let's say just children on the way to school who walk, no longer walk because walking means going down to the road and walking inside the roads to overtake vehicles are parked
So if the residents don't care that they are destroying the street with parking on sidewalks why should the municipality care? The populist municipality also does not want to upset the residents and regulate the streets like in Tel Aviv where there is no such thing as parking on sidewalks anymore. Either there are or there are no parking spaces, but the sidewalks are for pedestrians and not only that, they also eliminated parking along the streets for a wide and pleasant sidewalk along with bike lanes. What happened is that the residents of Tel Aviv learned that the street environment can be just as pleasant as at home when the street is quiet and safe and it's fun to sit on the sidewalk or you can suddenly walk in the city without the risk of being run over (with the exception of motorcycles and bicycles that go on sidewalks but this is also treated in Tel Aviv - not treated in Haifa, of course)
So, dear complaining residents, you have to make a decision. It's not the potholes in the road that are the problem, but your lack of respect for your living environment. Those who want Hadar to be in demand and pleasant should return the sidewalks in Hadar to be beautiful and pleasant, with trees for shade, with flower planters and small cafes, with the ability to take an electric bicycle and go from Bar Giora to the center of Carmel to shop and go down to Kish and Leon Bloom on a bike lane back to Bar Giora. When this happens, you will feel that you are not stuck in a neglected place, but part of a lively and dynamic city. The question is whether you are ready to give up blocking your streets with hundreds of vehicles and the municipality is ready to stop being populist-in the negative and neglect Hadar, or does it take up the gauntlet like Tel Aviv and separate traffic while renovating the streets Also the renovation of the lifestyle that the streets allow or in our case do not allow.
Don't let the municipality work on you. The wall that surrounds the building belongs to the street, therefore the municipality has to fix it and not the residents of the building. We had a similar case in the past on Arlozorov Street, so they really managed to work on us, but I checked a similar case in Dania where the municipality fixed it and did not demand anything from the building's residents. Apparently the residents of Hadar and Hadar Elion are unfortunately transparent.
Come on, let's go around the whole country now and look for broken sidewalks, where will we end up? There are areas in Tel Aviv that make you cringe just by looking at them and the city is considered "modern" and attractive with real estate prices 4 times and even 5 times higher than Haifa
I sympathize with Zehava. The state of the roads is appalling. I have lived on Abigail St. for 45 years. During all these years, they have done nothing on this street. I wrote a letter. I received an answer that they will do it in the future. Apart from the fact that you park on the sidewalk and of course you have to get off the road.
I forwarded your article, Michal Grover, to the care of the Municipality of Haifa. Shabbos Shalom
Terrible and terrible, cameras should be immediately installed along the street in order to increase the supervision and control over the squatters who do not renovate their apartments, and cause all the problems....the security cameras will alert the criminals and allow big profits for the municipality, the companies and the big banks....and it will be one hour earlier
Many sidewalks in Haifa look like this. Shimshon Street is a main street with a lot of traffic. Due to a parking shortage, vehicles park on the sidewalk and force pedestrians to get down to a busy road full of traffic. Only by a miracle were there no casualties. The sidewalks are full of bumps and dangerous to walk on. Instead of making amends, the municipality employs lawyers whose job it is to reject claims by people who fall and are injured because of it. More than that: workers are paid to hide evidence. My 76-year-old friend fell due to a small pothole and was rushed to the hospital by passers-by. She returned from the hospital around 10 at night and her son went to take pictures of the pit. The pit was covered with a new tarpaulin. Go prove that you don't have a sister. The municipality denied responsibility.
The municipality is not interested in anything written here. In any case, they fail to pass a budget. And even when there is a budget - street renovation is not at all a priority for them. See for example the rising sidewalk along Stella Maris Road. scandal!! I am now contacting the Haifa municipality with photographs regarding the pouring of concrete and gravel on Nahal HaGivori road and Rosh Mia road. We'll see how many years I have to live until something is done there. What is interesting is only the collection of property taxes and parking fines. And another mayor will not help. Maybe a project or two with lots of signs - that's all!
Wait, wait, all the photos in the article belong
To the same Bar Giora street
In the highest splendor in Haifa?!?
I am puzzled, the mayor of Haifa did not care
To this day? She and the team of Haifa city engineers?
Lucky that the municipal elections are approaching
Maybe for a change, one of the elected officials will move his eyes...!!!
Yes
All in one street
Terrible
Terrible. This is how many roads in the city look like. There is no renovation and maintenance culture here.