The "Streets of Haifa" group started a move aimed at improving the experience of pedestrians in the public space. On Tuesday 21/05/2024, the first meeting of the group was held, which decided that its initial goal would be to return the sidewalks to pedestrians by reducing vehicle parking on the sidewalks. This is an organization that operates in several cities in Israel, with the Jerusalem group signing several achievements regarding parking on sidewalks in the city.
Enforcement of parking on the sidewalk at all hours of the day
The main part of the conversation dealt with the plight of pedestrians, when they walk on the sidewalks and the parking situation on the sidewalks in the city. The group stated that its main goal is a change in enforcement, meaning that the municipality will enforce parking on sidewalks at all hours of the day and ensure that the sidewalks are free. The group referred to the fact that the experience of the pedestrian consists of a number of issues such as accessibility, security, lighting and more, but they decided to start the activity with parking on the sidewalks.
Elderly people who don't leave the house
One of the participants said that in Hadar there are elderly people who do not leave the house after 17:00, because they know that the sidewalks are not free, and they do not want to go down to the road. "All road users are being pushed because of the vehicles. It is important to me to have a safe sidewalk to walk on, without having to go down to the road."
The WhatsApp group of "In our streets"
The participants talked about the WhatsApp group of "In our streets" which has grown a lot in the last few days since it was distributed in several WhatsApp groups. According to them, this shows that the issue is significant for many Haifaites and it is time to act, when there is a new - old leadership in the city. The person who convened the meeting, Carmel Givon, presented data that he received from the freedom of information law officer at the municipality, according to which in the years 2021-2023 the amount of traffic reports that were registered decreased from 21,244 in 2021 to 13,532 in 2023.
Parking violation enforcement policy
The members of the group talked at length about the policy of enforcing parking violations by the municipality and whether there are parking violations that are enforced more than others. Regarding one issue, there was complete agreement among the group members - parking on the sidewalk is not enforced at all or hardly enforced. According to them, it is a matter of education and because today drivers know that there is no enforcement of parking on sidewalks, they allow themselves to park on the sidewalks.
The members of the group had no doubt that if the municipality would start giving fines to vehicles that park on sidewalks, the phenomenon could be eradicated or greatly reduced. They talked a lot about how parking on sidewalks endangers pedestrians, who find themselves forced to get off and walk on the road, and impairs their experience of public space. Those who are particularly affected are parents with strollers or disabled people in wheelchairs.
The situation in Haifa compared to other cities
During the entire meeting, the participants compared the situation in Haifa to other cities. Some talked about the Tel Aviv municipality, which enforces parking on the sidewalks and really greatly reduces the phenomenon, and in addition it has a hotline, which is active 24 hours a day to receive complaints, and some mentioned Nahariya and its wide sidewalks that allow many pedestrians to walk side by side.
One of the main solutions the group thought of was an appeal to council members in order to find supporters for the idea, who would be able to raise a question in the city council and flood the issue. The purpose of the query is to get the municipality to enforce the parking ban on the sidewalks and also to get an answer regarding the municipality's policy. The participants in the meeting said that there are issues that the municipality will enforce tomorrow and at night, such as parking at an active bus stop. On the other hand, parking on the sidewalk is enforced much less and not at all hours of the day.
Those who park on the sidewalk are exempt from payment
The participants in the meeting talked about the fact that those who park next to a sidewalk, which is marked in blue and white, have to pay, but those who park on the sidewalk are exempt from paying. Another topic that came up for discussion is places where drivers regularly park on the sidewalk or stand on the side of the sidewalk and delay traffic. Two of the participants appealed to the municipality to put bollards in these places and prevent parking, but they answered in the negative. Another issue that came up for discussion is that sometimes you get an answer from 106, that a vehicle parked on the sidewalk is no longer parked there, but in practice the vehicle is still standing on the sidewalk and obstructing.
The dual role of the Haifa Municipality
At the end, the participants talked about the dual role of the municipality - both providing the parking and enforcing the violations. According to them, if they had managed the parking issue more correctly, there would also be fewer parking violations. For example, if a parking ticket on the street was more expensive, there would be residents, who would not purchase it, and then there would be more free parking spaces. They emphasized that the pedestrian is being pushed in favor of the vehicles and those who suffer the most from this are the disadvantaged population.
When will Hagafen Street in Safed be taken care of? An official from the municipality built on half a street. She knocks the parking lot for an entire street. Neither she nor her husband from the Galilee faction is interested
I live on HaTorn Street in Ein Hayam, when I go to the grocery store in the anchorage, I go up on Had Sitri Street, Hagah Street. Unfortunately, there is a yeshiva on the side of the yeshiva. Parking or blocking the sidewalk, all complaints are closed with no offense...instead of a neighborhood procedure...no obstruction. The inspectors never come...I have a record of the vehicles and complaint numbers...the names of the inspectors who closed the handling in the past. Against the municipality... I would be happy to share materials with any party that will solve my problem... At my age I shouldn't be walking on the road...
One big rant. There are no parking spaces neither for the disabled nor for vehicles at all, they park in places without red and white markings and according to the municipality's suspicions they steal reports...
So arrange to have more parking spaces because there is a parking shortage.. but for you it's fun and great to enrich your coffers with tons of money from returns... a city of scoundrels
About time! People park on the sidewalk because they are too lazy to walk an extra 2 minutes and park where there are more open spots a few blocks away. Coming from NYC, sometimes I'd have to walk half a mile after parking to get home, but I never dared to park on the sidewalk. It is the most selfish thing a driver can do. Enough of cities are taken away and given to cars, leave the sidewalks to the pedestrians!
I've tried reporting over 2 dozen cars parked on sidewalks, forcing me to walk onto a 40 mph road, and of course nothing is ever done about it.
It's nice to see others take initiative too.
I've already left Haifa in favor of the center of the country. I'm tired of the mess in Haifa and I found a solution
I went to the center
As long as the disabled person does not block the sidewalk and there is a passage for pedestrians and strollers, no municipality can give a report
A mistake from her side is not a spear for the disabled
Well done. And not just the elderly, think about baby carriages
The problem of parking vehicles with contempt and breaking the law is widespread in the Haifa areas. This is parking in red and white. This is parking on an envelope, especially near the Seneca An systems. Cases in which fire and rescue vehicles are not equipped to maneuver and operate like on Schlossberg Shmuel Street at Shaar Aliya where there is a serious problem caused by trucks parked in order to unload their power to Super Victory must carry out preventive enforcement and resolve the issue as in other normative authorities
Not only in splendor. In Carmel you can't walk on the sidewalks and certainly not drive strollers with children.
Beyond the cars it's also a lot because of the messengers of Solo and Walt who just do whatever they want.
Fed up!
Greetings
The concern for the safety of the citizens and the concern for the elderly who are afraid to go out on the street for fear of not being able to walk on the sidewalk,
It is a welcome step.
I would like to ask if the new enforcement includes a disabled vehicle?
As you know, a disabled vehicle has a permit to park on a sidewalk marked in red and white, while the driver adheres to the rules set by the Ministry of Transportation, such as: leave enough space on the sidewalk for a wheelchair or baby carriage to pass, and several other restrictions that must be observed.
I will ask for a reference to the subject.
Thanks
It will never include a disabled vehicle, and if this happens, the disabled will go on demonstrations to the point of blocking all the traffic lanes at the same time in all areas of the Hebrew area of Haifa
A welcome initiative. Good luck.
As a frequent user of the Stella Maris road, I wonder how long the double parking phenomenon of the vehicles blocking the descending road will last.
Many times you have to stop and wait for the uphill lane to clear of uphill vehicles so that you can overtake the vehicle parked on the road. Not infrequently a municipal or police bypass vehicle passes by and continues on its way without paying attention to the defiant hazard. Until when?
The time has come for the issue to be addressed in Samson and more
The municipality works in two opposite ways - on the one hand it gives new construction permits and on the other hand it does not really solve the parking problem.
It is very nice to have enforcement, but when there is nowhere to park, how exactly does the municipality handle the issue?
If in Haifa there were parking spaces in the neighborhoods, people wouldn't park on the sidewalk!!
It angers all the nice people who care about the pedestrians but do not offer practical advice.
The problem is that people have to park at the entrance to their house... park a little far, walk a little and do sports and you'll earn 😉
The area of Bnei Zion hospital, real lawlessness, parking on the sidewalks, parking in red and white, there is no law and order, even those with a disabled certificate cannot block the passage of pedestrians and other disabled people. Inspectors are not visible, and even if there are, they are invisible, the same as the general supervision who does not bother to get out of the moving car. Promiscuity for its own sake.
On Dolcin Street almost every night there is activity in a synagogue. Park in red and white, park on sidewalks, park in private parking lots. If you want to go out on the road with a car, it's Russian roulette, because you can't see anything.
How many times did we contact the supervisor and what was the answer? Think about it.
We need to first ensure that there will be parking and then enact a law, nobody wants to park on the sidewalk, the problem is that there is no place to park in Haifa because the municipality is not interested, in my neighborhood it is possible to make parking for about 50 vehicles and solve the problem of the whole neighborhood, unfortunately it is not of interest to them
Action should be taken decisively against those who block sidewalks, there is no need to act sweepingly because of the parking shortage, there are those who commit the crime systematically, cooperation with the police can be very beneficial regarding those who park in a way that endangers road users, including the elderly and women with strollers who are forced to "get off" to the road
Much of the Kiryat Eliezer area is parked in this way, all of Allenby + the Rothschild/Hagafen/Ben Gurion/Hamagins border, almost all the sidewalks within this area are blocked by vehicles, it would be very helpful if this area could be taken care of
The area of the courts in the lower city is terrible lawlessness. It is not possible to walk on the sidewalk.
In Kiryat Haim, where parking is free, people park on the sidewalk and unfortunately, I go for a walk with my dog on the road. I've never seen inspectors in Kiryat Haim..and I'm not young at all anymore.
It's cars. People, if you haven't noticed, don't really count anymore.
Come to Jaffa Street in shawarmas, leaving cars in a three-way parking lot and leaving sidewalks and two transportation lanes blocked. We thought Yahav and were wrong.
The phenomenon is terrible and endangers pedestrians, perhaps due to a lack of inspectors who do not respond to complaints, this should be transferred to a contractor and then the city's coffers will be filled and less property tax will be paid, perhaps hahahaha
Inspectors come to Hillel Street in the morning and hand out NIS 500 reports to every car parked on the sidewalk. It has been like this for several years and the phenomenon has not stopped, we continue to park on the sidewalks.
A bunch of irresponsible people, in the end the ones who pay with the parking hardship in the reports are the residents who are already suffering from the lack of sufficient parking and also the lack of planning horizon of the municipality. You punish the punished!
Add to that that public transportation in the overcrowded neighborhoods is almost non-existent so you can't give up a car!
One might think that car owners are happy to park on the sidewalk... When they approve a construction evacuation and from 6 apartments, three rooms allow a building of 11 apartments of 110-160 meters with a low parking coefficient, adding 16 cars per minute that have nowhere to park!
not interesting. Sell the car from me, the sidewalk is for pedestrians. insolent
This happened to me too. They say that the inspector came and took care of it, but in practice there was no inspector. They are just making fun of the people in the municipality.
The municipality of Haifa, like most authorities, as usual, is fighting the car owners. It is true that blocking sidewalks is not a sympathetic thing, or what about alternative parking solutions? The majority of the streets in Haifa are narrow and the distress is great.
Come and visit the Neve, here they enter the streets with no entry, grinding from the early hours of the morning on the sidewalks and blocking the way so that pedestrians literally go down to the road.
I'm not Haifai but I know the absurd problem is that the many victims are sensitive populations such as the disabled, the elderly and women and men with children and strollers. And this is the case throughout the country. It's as if the sidewalks were built for the criminals of all kinds and this is with the help of the local government. This is a real danger to life. And insensitivity to the homeless populations. It could be our brother or sister or father. Put Katz on this phenomenon. It's time for the state to take care of it itself on an overall level of the entire country. This is a danger that screams to the sky.
If you really cared... you would take care of the phenomenon of the businesses occupying the parking spaces who put a chair or something in front of them and cause congestion and the lack of parking which is the lead for the law-abiding citizens who cannot confront the contractors who do this and the businesses then turn around again and again and have no choice but to park. But I mean those that block only partially. that the municipality should start dealing with the real criminals and their bravery first.. and then we'll see.. you; my dear; Looking for the easy way. No! It is not acceptable! And it is suggested that you also do work and not just offer to price characters. Find options.. and act to realize them. Push for better and available transportation. And regarding real blocking criminals if they are not a disabled vehicle, I suggest going back to the Sindol days.. it is already effective.. by the way... if you are disturbed by things on the sidewalk.. do not restaurants and shops that take out their wares bother you??? Easy life...not at our school. We will see you facing businesses and not ordinary citizens
bad joke If the municipality had imposed the duty in the regulations on itself. They would require the developers and contractors who received an "exemption" from allocating parking spaces to the buildings they built, depending on the number of households and expanding sewer and water infrastructures... but the developers are using existing systems without sufficient parking spaces. And who bears the damage? Yes, you were not mistaken... the residents. So.. they destroyed forests that caused the spread of the pigs, a desperate parking shortage, water and sewage supply far below what was required.. and what did we get? Residents who did not receive compensation for the property tax they paid and disappointment from the city's neighborhoods...result? Negative migration of residents.
So if Yona Yahav wants to stop the chain? Instead of imposing fines and damages on the residents of the city... let them act in the opposite way and take care of the well-being of the residents instead of the pockets of the developers
The parking control department does not enforce in some places in the city. In some of the streets of the lower city, in Hadar and where the guys hang out.
Even in demonstrations, or ours, everything is allowed??
The time will come, third world Haifa
If, for example, the municipality were to oblige contractors for two and a half parking spaces per apartment, which reflects reality,
So there were no parking problems on the sidewalk.
But the municipality is afraid of the contractors, and is stuck in the eighties of the last century, and those who pay the price are anyone who is not a contractor.
The failure to park on the sidewalk is a story with no way out. At the time, the neighborhood council told me that because of the parking shortage in the area (Ramot Remez) they do not enforce the issue. It doesn't matter that at 10 in the morning there is no longer a parking shortage, but the vehicles stay there.
I wish there would be a change. Dafna Street is blocked all day with cars on the sidewalk
No price should fall on any resident, that the city and the permits provide a normal parking space for vehicles without private parking. And they will take money out of their pockets because the citizens have been busy from all directions with the duty payments, and you can't park on the tree, so they will provide patronage
I agree with you. The parking situation in the neighborhoods and urban centers is very bad. There is no parking. And most car owners do and do so out of choice. Indeed it bothers certain populations. Not good. But the municipality must increase the amount of parking, and then fine the car owners.
Bardak celebrates in Haifa. Mainly in Hadar and Carmel, they park on the sidewalk and block passage. Usually these are thugs or criminals and go wake them up..
I have already applied many times and not in vain about vehicles parked on Idar Street. The street, where a lot of elderly people from nursing homes and people with strollers pass. And I asked that there be a permanent place at least in the morning from 9 to 12. It is unbearable. It is dangerous to go down the road both with strollers with babies and for the elderly with Walkers and strollers. And an unsolved problem. Very demanding. Before a disaster happens.
There is almost no place to park in Haifa, schools and kindergartens have existed in Haifa since the beginning of the last century, at a time when people did not have private cars, parking should be allowed on the sidewalks during the hours when the children are picked up and brought (15 minutes before and 15 minutes after)
That's a horrible suggestion. That's when kids walk home from school. You want the children to walk onto roads so that you can pick YOUR child up easier? Ridiculous. Take a bus or park a few blocks away.
You are right in principle, but... There are wide sidewalks that you can park on without causing pedestrians to step onto the road. Vehicles that park inconsiderately and endanger pedestrians - fine them, but those who do not endanger - there is no reason to punish. The phenomenon of parking on sidewalks stems from a very severe parking shortage. And liker issuing a parking ticket is not what will solve the problem, and there is no reason why a tenant on the street should not be able to park his car on the street!
I agree with Ward.
I live in one of the most famous streets in Haifa. There are evacuees at the hotel. There is not enough parking for people who live on the street. Sometimes there is no choice - only on the sidewalk
The sidewalk is only for pedestrians
You are not always right. I don't see a problem with parking on the sidewalk that doesn't interfere with the pedestrian crossing. What needs to be done is to check everything individually. There are pedestrians and there are car drivers. They have rights too.
What will a disabled person do on wheels? What will a mother of twins do? These are things that the municipality should take care of and not leave to the citizens to quarrel among themselves.
Unfortunately it won't help. In many streets in Haifa, especially in the Hadar neighborhood, there is a parking shortage. Because of the same parking shortage, vehicles are parked on the sidewalks and the municipality does not enforce the matter.
It's a shame that pedestrians are injured, I don't drive and find myself for half of my walking time outside walking on the road and zigzagging between parked cars because there are cars that drive like crazy.
Unfortunately, as beautiful as the idea is and the activity can be blessed, I don't see the Haifa municipality coming towards the pedestrian residents and they won't agree to the matter.
I wish it would succeed and that the sidewalk would belong to me again instead of being a parking lot for cars, I'm very afraid to go out also precisely because of this, but the municipality has already proven that it doesn't care about the pedestrians who don't pay the municipality the same amounts as the car owners.
Unfortunately, enforcement in Haifa is poor:
1. The filth of the restaurants on the sidewalks.
2. Parking of vehicles on the sidewalks in the lower city mainly.
3. Facility gardens have become dog kennels.
4. Music and activity in bars and clubs beyond legal hours.
5. Crazy trips of improved vehicles around the city and especially in the downtown.
6. Curved access to the cruise port (must go to Rambam beach complex).
All the best to them because they succeeded all over the country. Shabbat Shalom and blessed everyone
Bored buffoons. Let them go look for employment.
All the best to them, I hope they succeed all over the country
At the beginning of the article I believed you that you are coming for the benefit of the residents, it is definitely annoying that people park and block a sidewalk and a woman with a stroller or a disabled person or even a pedestrian has to go down the road, you lost me when you proposed to raise the price of a parking ticket, how nice it is to charge the residents who have a car an additional fee to get a parking ticket , they are residents of the street why should it be more expensive for them to pay for a parking ticket if it will be expensive where will they park??? They have no other place to shop so they will be forced to pay the expensive price without any choice!!!!
Are you looking to help pedestrians or are you looking to squeeze more money from the city's residents who are captive to buying a parking ticket?
The price should fall on the business owners, we must buy space that will be turned into a parking lot, add shuttles between the parking lots and the stores, it may hurt the tenants in the short term, but in the long run it will pay off, the municipality should help with loans for the benefit of this project. (The municipality can take a loan on better terms than the tenants and pass on the renters the increase in property taxes. It is impossible to agree if anarchy, anyone in his right mind will do)