(live here in the neighborhoods) - A tour of the special neighborhood that hugs the beach brings up deep sorrow for the severe neglect it has been suffering for years. We walked and talked with the chairman of the Bat Galim neighborhood committee, Yuval Busin.
The Bat Galim neighborhood, located in the west of Haifa, is considered unique and unusual, as it is the only one among all the city's neighborhoods whose houses abut the seashore. The magical and beautiful neighborhood has promenades and a beach, and the Rambam Hospital is located there, which is known as the largest medical center in the north. The neighborhood also includes a railroad and a train station, the Technion medical school, a naval base and a cable car, and it is a center of attraction for tourists.
very special and neglected
Despite all these, the long-standing neglect suffered by the special and old neighborhood cannot be hidden. In view of the tremendous potential embodied in it, the failure to realize it stands out even more. Over the years, mountains of promises have been made by the various mayors, but as they say - promises are separate and actions are separate, and to be precise - the promises, or at least the respectable part of them, seem to be starting to come true because they seem to be realizing them just before the elections.
The Rat Walk, for example, was already promised 11 years ago that it would be ready and open to the public in November 2019, until this moment, the date of publication of the article (8/8/23) has not yet opened. It should be noted that the boardwalk dedication ceremony definitely took place, but as mentioned, since then it has been deserted and, in addition to that, is also not accessible.
The boardwalk itself was built and benches were placed along it, but they are worn and peeling, the vegetation and bushes are dry and dead, the fitness facilities garden that was established four years ago, stands desolate and the equipment in it is already rusted.
So after all that, perhaps it's not surprising to see that we remembered to go back and promote the works on the promenade four months before the local elections. The same goes for the surfers' club in Bat Galim, which has been talked about so much over the years, and now they are working on it again around the clock, probably in order to have time to open it again this year.
Deficiencies and waste of space
At the Bat Galim Promenade you can see that the entire shading planning is very poor, which is illogical in light of the heavy heat and the blazing sun in our country. Although pergolas were installed above the benches, they do not provide the required shading, and when you sit, even in the early morning hours when the heat is not at its peak, there is no shade at all. Likewise, there are no faucets at all on the boardwalk, the benches themselves are not maintained and along the entire boardwalk there are many safety hazards that endanger passers-by.
There are actually sprinklers in areas where grass grows, but for some reason these were installed poorly and in an illogical location, so that instead of watering the grass, the sprinklers water the benches and pavements of the boardwalk. It is outrageous to see the amounts of water that are wasted without purpose.
There are no water taps along the beach, in terms of the development of the neighborhood, projects are planned to build 4400 housing units without taking into account that this is a small neighborhood with two exits and entrances with one direction of travel.
The boardwalk was inaugurated a long time ago - but is closed
In an interview with Lahi Fa, Yuval Busin says: "We have been waiting for the Huldah Promenade, named, as you know, after the woman for whom we have a great deal of respect, for 11 years now, since Shihav announced its establishment. According to the plan, the works were supposed to be completed in November 2019, and here we are in August 2023 and the promenade has not yet opened. Really Now we see that they started working in March to rededicate it, because as mentioned, a Hanukkah ceremony was already held two years ago." What infuriates us, as residents, and I speak on behalf of the residents of the Bat Galim neighborhood, is that the works are always started or lots of promises are scattered in the periods before elections. For example, now the work has also started again for the people at the surfers' club, apparently to show us in preparation for the elections "here we have done and are doing". For more than two years they have been working at the surfers' beach, a job that should have been finished a long time ago."
Bussin adds: "And we haven't even talked about the dog beach, even after two years the dogs still can't swim there, and they get injured because of the situation there, from the rocks and stones, or from the umbrellas they put on the beach for us, instead of installing shades over the benches, so we can sit."
4 times more residents
"Let's recall that a high-rise building is planned in the neighborhood, so that it is going to quarter itself in terms of the amount of the population, when there is no answer in terms of public transportation. We are going to add 4400 housing units here, in a small neighborhood, which as of today has about 1200 housing units without any prior thought or effective planning and without Take into account that the neighborhood has two entrances and exits, with one lane in each direction. You must have an interchange into the neighborhood and you must have it before you start evacuating and building. You have to remember that in addition to the expected population growth, there are also visitors to the Rambam Hospital and the travelers who come to the beach and the boardwalk. How much can this neighborhood hold? This is what happens in our neighborhood, Bat Galim, but no one counts us."
We addressed the Haifa Municipality with a number of questions regarding the various issues raised here. Their answer can be mildly defined as "extremely partial", and in fact, it refers to the subject of the sprinklers only, which they say are functioning properly and properly aimed.
The Haifa Municipality responded:
"In the inspection conducted yesterday, Wednesday (10/8/23) at the location, it was found that all the sprinklers are in good condition and well directed. The ground is wet and there is no sign of water, neither on the paths nor on the benches. It should be noted that in the area of the boardwalk next to the sea, winds often blow that divert the currents The water splashing from the sprinklers."
The municipality's activities in the neighborhood have not yet been completed...
There are still some ancient stone buildings that have not yet been destroyed.
The demolition of some of them is being taken care of now and the time for the rest will also come.
Haifaites once looked down on Bat Galim, saying it was old, undeveloped, old with new immigrant and elderly residents.
What the Haifaites failed to understand, the residents of the center did, and today you already have to sell 2 apartments in the mansion in order to buy an apartment on the sea line in Bat Galim.
Bat Galim is Haifa's haven of justice. Literally!
They underestimated her...now she appeals only to the rich and those who believed in her.
As a Galimi product born and raised in the neighborhood 80 years ago, I have the right to express my opinions here about everything in the neighborhood for quite a few years, and I even allow myself to back up the responses of Yuval Busin, who is a scion and the next generation of a Galimi family. The time has come for the Bat Galim neighborhood, which since its foundation about 100 years ago, has changed over the years, and I mean mainly the 40s/50s/60s, and was even considered and called by everyone the crown jewel of the city of Haifa, and after the 60s, a terrible retreat began in the image of the neighborhood, which began to be portrayed as a failed neighborhood , and most of the failure stems from a lack of care on the part of the local government which literally took its hands off the development of the neighborhood and thus it was neglected and unfortunately for so many years.
I hope that in the future there will be drastic changes by the new mayor who will be elected, because most of us as children of Bat Galim will never give up the name, character, quality and beauty of the Bat Galim neighborhood.
Oz Avraham, you expect drastic changes. One of them is the one that approved 30-story towers in Bat Galim along the second Aliya street. A total of 4000 residents and about 1200 cars will be added to its limited area.
I know exactly what it will look like: Second Ascent Street will not be able to move. Residents will protest to close the neighborhood only to residents' cars because of huge traffic jams. Children will have to study far away because of the lack of kindergartens and schools. And all the sidewalks will be full of residents' vehicles 'in need of parking'. In a stormy winter, half of the neighborhood will flood. There will be a demand to turn the area of the truck base into a multi-story parking lot. Ambulances will have difficulty reaching Rambam and he will require an entrance from Zim Square to the emergency room exclusively for Rambam vehicles. And in the article with Busin the headline will be 'Build Hong Kong here and destroy the neighborhood'.
As a Galimi product born and raised in the neighborhood 80 years ago, I have the right to express my opinions here about everything in the neighborhood for quite a few years, and I even allow myself to back up the responses of Yuval Busin, who is a scion and the next generation of a Galimi family. The time has come for the Bat Galim neighborhood, which since its foundation about 100 years ago, has changed over the years, and I mean mainly the 40s/50s/60s, and was even considered and called by everyone the crown jewel of the city of Haifa, and after the 60s, a terrible retreat began in the image of the neighborhood, which began to be portrayed as a failed neighborhood , and most of the failure stems from a lack of care on the part of the local government which literally took its hands off the development of the neighborhood and thus it was neglected and unfortunately for so many years.
I hope that in the future there will be drastic changes by the new mayor who will be elected, because most of us as children of Bat Galim will never give up the name, character, quality and beauty of the Bat Galim neighborhood.
And add to that the dirt and filth in the neighborhood. For example, a trash can on Ha'il St., corner of HaKag, stands next to a playground on sand that is completely soaked in manure juices and full of rot and flies
Tel Aviv - 13.5 km bathing beaches.
Herzliya - 7 km bathing beaches
Haifa - 2.8 km bathing beaches
You understood where the problem is - a coastal city whose beaches were stolen.
Hello, we came with tourists to show them the Haifa beach in Babbat Galim.
I must say that I did not expect their impression to be so negative and I feel the need to detail each step of the visit.
1: I collected them from Bat Galim station. There is no way to return from it to the neighborhood and the beaches. Yes, it's crazy, it's so close to the neighborhood, but you have to make a huge turn in the car to enter it again if you picked someone up on the train.
2. They waited outside the station. There are no benches in the shade near the entrance. There is no place to wait for collection.
3. The mirror. Lots of fences. of the port of Rambam of the base of the train. The whole trip is near fences.
4. We stopped in a parking lot near Mega to buy water and food. This parking lot is really dirty. Piles of garbage and wrappers and bags and mud among the eucalyptus, on the side. Like a dump in the middle of the neighborhood.
5. The mega - dirty floor. Shelves with dust. Disorganization. Things thrown on the shelves. They were in the market from the bad shopping experience.
6. Well, we found a parking place and are going down to the beach. First of all, the dressing rooms are really small. not enough A lot of people really come and there is no room and it feels cramped. The services are also at a very low level and there is no cleaner, it is better to pay and have someone clean all the time
7. There is no keeping of files. There is also no store for sale or rental of beach equipment such as towels, flip flops, beach mattresses, umbrellas, hats and beach chairs that you will see on any beach in the world. So in Haifa they didn't hear about it
8. The sand is filthy, just horrible to walk on, full of cigarettes and all kinds of wrappers and chewing gum. Not cleaning the sand? Why not keep this little bit clean?
9. Lifeguard shelters were closed when another 200 people were in the water. What is?? Why close so early and leave people in the water?
10. The kiosk. There is one kiosk on the entire beach and up to let's say two restaurants near the casino. This? Where are the shops? where are restaurants Where is the souvenir shop? There is absolutely nothing for tourism.
10. There are not enough seats and places with shade. There is also the playground that makes noise kicking the nets and making noise for those on the beach why put it on the beach it just takes up space maybe instead of making another cafe or more changing rooms
This is their experience was not good
It was very crowded and crowded and there was nowhere to put things on the beach
There was an unpleasant feeling of crowding and pressure
There is a lot to improve and needs to be improved. The beaches do not meet even a medium standard in the world.
All the best to Yuval the alert, and does to Bat Galim. If you need it, I photographed the neglect for years, including an article about the boardwalk, and all the material is at your disposal.
You are welcome, always, to me to watch and choose photographs that will help you and as I have told you many times, I will come to assist you, tell me when and I will come.
Apparently Haifa remains a poor "working" city... there is no budget for anything
Haifa should appoint a called committee. about
The people who manage the city and also managed in the past did not know how to manage. Les. Lek them all and bring in a professional person in managing cities.
Where is a safety hazard just... there is so much neglect that you can take pictures but more importantly
Why are you living in Israel? Enough with this passive defeatism!!!
wake up!!!!! The newspaper is not the only address, go to the fight for this collapsing city if you care?
It's good that someone brought up the neglect that existed in what could have been a desirable gem for travelers and residents. Bat Galim neighborhood. The sword casino. The ugly definitions. There are no cafes or restaurants in Tilat. Desolation and neglect. What a shame.
Bat Galim Mon also Haifa most of the country is managed by the Partetz.
Want to enjoy and relax, after a mess in and out of the city.
post Scriptum. And if you ask, don't forget to mention that everything here is honey
Anywhere in the world a neighborhood that kisses the sea is in demand for living and housing prices there are expensive and here? Neglect, lack of planning and lack of demand. is this normal
Don't worry in this neighborhood for a very senior in the engineering manager there are 3 apartments and don't worry he can also change the entrances and exits from the neighborhood in light of the high position he has in the engineering manager, just guess who he is and you will understand that he can do a lot.
Bat Galim neighborhood....the name is very beautiful...once upon a time when the British were running the affairs of this unhappy country, there was a casino there that attracted all the fat and the fat and it was considered an exclusive place for connoisseurs, there was a pool of salt sea water in Maktam....In my childhood we waded in its waters in seamanship lessons, Since then, many sewage waters have spilled onto these shores, and the filth and filth are evident in every corner... the magnificent casino has become an ugly ruin and everything has become polluted and deteriorated.... their prices without any relation to the surrounding reality... this is suitable for those who live in eye-popping buildings in the mud puddles and the surrounding stench, that they and their children will be disturbed by the greed of arrogance and wealth, a generation of...
Probably none of us commenters will be able to buy an apartment in Bat Galim anymore after the real estate prices there jumped by 250% in the last decade, so it's good that at least we can get the grumbling out in the comments
Bat Galim is first of all Haifa's seafront and should serve all Haifa residents who come to the beaches and promenades.
Regardless, the correlation between the quality of the neighborhood and the housing prices in it has long been disconnected because we are in a bubble of speculators and real estate dealers looking for a quick profit. If there is something that should concern you, it is exactly what you are proud of, especially if you want to live in it and did not come to make a real estate tour of it.
See, on the other hand, the other neighborhoods of West Haifa, Eliyahu Eliezer, Ein Hayam, that Neve David broke into, did not receive a comma of what Shabbat Galim received.
There is something to improve but don't cry all the time.
You're right, nothing will be done in this term in the beach neighborhoods and the Benue David eviction project was all approved 10 years ago
The only failed thing that the delusional person suggested was "barbecue park in the garden of Neveh David" because she does not count these neighborhoods.
And with a slight opposition to the railway tunnel, we will get electrification with fences and electrification trusses 5 meters high that will surround all the beaches. This is the next destruction she is already causing because of her and the Haifa city engineer's opposition to the train tunnel between the Carmel Beach and Check Post. There will be 4 tracks with electrification trusses every few meters that will create a detention camp-like appearance around the entire beach and in the middle of the downtown.
I've been living in the neighborhood for 70 years and it gets better every year. What about the sports facilities near the track, an excellent playground, a wedding garden, a community garden. It seems that the chairman of the neighborhood has glasses shooting over his eyes and does not see the beautiful things in the neighborhood.
The neighborhood is not neglected at all, quite a lot is invested
Surfers Beach Bat Galim beach renovated
The rat promenade is waiting for the bridge towards Rambam
The second Aliya road will be renewed when all the Tamar activity in the area ends
Made violators to prevent speeding in the neighborhood
This is a neighborhood with a past that demands the preservation of old stone houses
What to do when the boardwalk is close to the sea and in a stormy sea it gets covered in sand and needs to be cleaned.
Bat Galim will not be Paris. People bought his apartment. For NIS 200000 a few years ago and today you can get a millionaire for them.
So why all the crying? A beautiful neighborhood.
A promenade that for 40 years still has one fish restaurant and kilometers of abandoned and rusting buildings.
Broken sidewalks, neglected and gray streets, one cafe that doesn't even overlook the sea.
You should expect much, much more than that as a resident of a coastal city.
really neglected
It doesn't really deserve to be called the path promenade that is there
Yuval is absolutely right. so sad .
A lovely place. Not invested or dragged
jobs
If they wanted it in the municipality, they would promote it.
Shrink, don't hope
Aalek serious news site
amateurs
A stupid mayor took down the shades on Bat Galim beach and replaced them with shades that don't cast any shade. It would have been better if you didn't do anything. In addition, more toilets are needed in the southern part of Bat Galim beach. And worst of all, there is no parking for those who come and want to enjoy the beach, there should be free parking as it was Always, but there is no parking left, not even in the peak months.
No parking left? Parking is a scarce resource that needs to be charged for.
How can you complain that there is no parking when a group of boys instead of coming together by car because the paid parking comes in 4 vehicles...
It is clear that as soon as a resource is freely given it is misused. So those who want parking on the beaches should be prepared to pay for it.
Why the only neighborhood? Kiryat Haim Batia also kisses the sea. No Yes?
Shame to see the neglect of this magical neighborhood. This city has been stupidly run for many years. All over the world, such places are cultivated and invested. Shame, shame, shame.
The biggest assholes in town
Anyone who passed by the southern entrance road to the neighborhood and watched the work of the surfers' beach noticed that they hardly ever worked there, and if they did see workers in the area, they were always resting, drinking coffee or eating.
shrunk unshrunk
Sorry to say, but this is perhaps the neighborhood that is going to get the most banged up in Haifa
As soon as they arrive with the electricity poles right next to the neighborhood and two more railroad tracks and add 5 meter high fences on both sides, it will look like a neighborhood behind the walls of a prison.
The article claims that this is a neighborhood with one entrance and one exit, this is of course a mistake, it has two exits and two entrances with the Allenby Bridge and there is endless public transportation, both buses and Metro, cable car, Bat Galim train - it is not clear what they are talking about.
Regarding the neglected boardwalk and rat boardwalk - the Haifa municipality is making every possible mistake. The BHAD should have been evacuated. Yahav agreed 10 years ago that the BHAD would not be vacated. The residents should be aware that the IDF and the security system never intend to evacuate the BHD, it is lost. It was possible to evacuate it in exchange for a polynomial, but the IDF builds it up and does not leave Bat Galim either
The nuisance of the humidity and winds in the neighborhood - the new tenants who think everything is glamorous living so close to the sea will discover the problems.