Shaking up the city: Complaints about severe neglect in Shoshant Carmel in Haifa ◄ Watch

(Live here) - documentation - the neglect on Shoshanat HaCarmel Street, which is located on the slopes of Western Carmel.

The street starts as a turn from Derech Hayam Street and there are several streets that connect it to Derech Hayam Street. Residents of the street claim that the street was established during the mandate period, that the upper part of the street was built at the beginning and is therefore narrower and point to a number of problems with the street that harm its potential.

Such a beautiful street, but not clean

The dirt on Shoshant Carmel Street

One of the main problems that the residents point to is the problem of dirt in the street. "Every now and then a street cleaner comes here, and he really tries to do what he can, but it's not enough," he says Amnon Engelberg, who has lived on the street for 35 years. "Sometimes I see garbage next to one of the bins and it can stay next to the bin for weeks, and no one comes and cleans it. The street is dirty, it is not cleaned properly. I am no longer talking about the fact that twice a week pigs come to the street and overturn the garbage bins, and you can describe The filth they leave behind."

Garbage scattered on Shoshant HaCarmel St. 64 - 6/7/23

A feeling of living in nature, but the beauty is damaged by the neglect

Engelberg likes living on the street, the houses are immersed in green and are above a wadi, and despite the proximity to the center of Carmel and the centrality of the street, there is a feeling of living in nature. But the beauty is damaged by not maintaining the street properly, according to him. He further notes that one of the things that make the street unique are paths from the roads to internal buildings, which sit right above the wadi.

Construction on the street

Another problem, which greatly disturbs the residents of the street, is the street traffic.
Engelberg explains that until recently, those who renovated their homes did so while taking into account construction on the street. For example, most of the renovated buildings kept the height of the other buildings.

In recent months, residents have been getting together and examining options to oppose planned zoning. The claims are mostly that the zoning changes the street layout, which could be a problem with parking and traffic congestion on the road, and that too many floors and too many units are approved.

"Do not allow the destruction of the street with the TMA"

"We need to thaw land elsewhere, and not allow the street to be destroyed with the TMA's," says Engelberg, "When the street was built, the idea was to create a residential neighborhood with a special character of greenery all around and small houses above the wadi, and the TMA's are threatening to damage that.

There is going to be a construction eviction next to my apartment and instead of 4 apartments there will be 12 apartments. It would be a nightmare, since it is a narrow alley, and it is not clear how heavy mechanical equipment will fit in there. At the entrance to our building there are 5-6 parking lots, which belong to the buildings later on, and there is an intention to expropriate them in order to allow the testing of heavy mechanical equipment during construction."

Avner Rogel: "Struggles are being waged so that the construction will be in proportion"

"The street changes its face," also says Avner Rogel, who came to live on the street in 2015. "Today when you look in the direction of Huadi, most of the houses have two stories and blend into the surroundings, houses after TMA are very prominent, taking down the green.

It also threatens us, we are fighting for the construction to be in proportion to what exists on the street. The street is 10 minutes from the center of Carmel. Our apartment is above Nahal Lotem, and there is a real feeling that we are living in nature, and we want to preserve it."

"The entire upper part of the street is recognized for textural preservation, preservation of the environment, and not necessarily one house or another," explains Rogel, "the preservation committee of the municipality recognized this. We enjoy living here, but there is room for improvement. Western Carmel compared to other neighborhoods is Without a center, there is no neighborhood character, there is no community center in the neighborhood.

After the corona, relations between the neighbors were formed. Daffodils, primroses, Derech Hayam and the Carmelite rose - found a public space that was recognized as a community garden, a community open space, it's called the Daffodil Garden. There are initiatives here that try to connect the neighborhood to nature and preserve it. It is about the initiatives of the residents, the community garden and also legal battles against the TMA."

Road condition: needs renovation

Rogel claims that one of the problems in the street is the condition of the road. "The road is messed up, it's a result of the tolls and the trucks that are traveling. Then repairs are made, but repairs are made only in front of the building that is being renovated. They do not repair all the damage that was caused to the road. There was a time when renovations were done on the sea route and then the street was closed in one direction, and many vehicles arrived at Shoshanat Carmel , including buses and heavy vehicles, since the street has not been renovated."

The plight of parking and blocking the sidewalks

Both Rogel and Engelberg agree that the parking shortage on the street is a major problem. "The sidewalks are relatively narrow and together with the parking shortage, this often results in the sidewalks being blocked.

Students returning home from school have to walk on the road, as the sidewalks are blocked by vehicles parked on them. There is nothing to do, some buildings do not have private parking lots, and it is very difficult to find parking. The upper part of the street is steeper and narrower, as it was built earlier. There are also no crosswalks in this section except at the square (intersection with Derech Hayam Street). There is also nothing on the street that slows down the traffic. Drivers drive on our street at a very high speed, the only solution is to put some in violation."