In recent months, many publications of the Haifa Municipality and the Society for the Protection of Nature have appeared calling on the public
To join the fight against Israel Railways' decision to electrify the railway.
"Who will sink: the train or Haifa?"It was written in publications that also appeared here on this website.
However, these days the municipality is preparing for the execution of an expensive project, which is the connection of the Allenby interchange to the Bat Galim neighborhood. This interchange is a complex and expensive engineering project
whose purpose is the construction of a road - a "ramp" connecting the upper part of the existing interchange to the inner road in the neighborhood.
The complexity of the project and its expensive cost (estimated at about NIS 20 million) is due to the fact that this "ramp" is an overhead connection for the passage of...
The train
under this road.
In other words, if the train sinks as we all want, then this project is completely unnecessary and access to the Galim neighborhood can be created by a cheap and simple solution
much more.
Did the Haifa municipality forget that they are against the subsidence?
The completion of the Allenby Interchange was presented in the past as the only solution for connecting the Bat Galim neighborhood to Sderot Hagana.
The nature of the solution was determined due to the railroad tracks and cable cars. Under these constraints we had to put up with the scenic damage
The hard work and construction so close to the water line. We preferred to see the "glass half full" meaning the utilization of the spaces
The big ones that will be created under the interchange for the purpose of building surf club buildings.
Now, in a long-term view, we are convinced that it is mandatory for the planning authorities and the municipality to re-examine the solution.
If the train does sink, it will be possible to preserve the scenic uniqueness of this rare stretch of beach that connects
Carmel to the sea.
The sinking of the train is indeed a future plan, but the construction of the bridge will also take years and for a few years of using the interchange
It is not reasonable to spend such large sums of money and cause such serious damage to the beach.
The completion of the interchange has been changed in recent years to a minimalist one, and has been approved by all the planning committees, including the Wall Association, finding a traffic solution for the Bat Galim neighborhood is essential and at the top of the priorities, and there is no connection between its schedule and the train electrification project, which is a long-term project.
The surfers' representatives met with the representatives of the municipality and brought their request to quickly advance the completion of the interchange and the structure of the "surfer's club" planned as part of the project.
"Hai Fe" - why don't you ask for a response from all the eloquent speakers who talk about themselves on a regular basis on this site?
Can they only write dry voice messages here?
Let me help you - ask for a response from the following parties:
Haifa municipality -
Beautiful view - (because not only the matron's color is important)
Increasing These are Alexandria - Because the Society for the Protection of Nature is a partner of the municipality in the train campaign.
I would appreciate the response of the editor of this site to my request
There are no disagreements that the bridge was built, in the passage there is talk of the continuation of the construction. Maybe we'll get a little more beach. But a beach under the ramp. There are things that even an architect can't fix, but maybe improve a little. The "transition" could be arranged at a relatively small expense. The ramp is not being built to solve the "crossing" problem.
I would like to clarify: the bridge, unfortunately, has already been built! This is a fact.
The ramp in the reduced plan descends from the existing bridge, south adjacent to the track.
The space below it will be used for surfers' needs,
and will allow the dismantling and evacuation of the "transition" of barracks and containers on the existing beach.
Therefore, at the end of the day, if they work according to this plan, we will get more beach, not less.
In any case, one of the surfers, an architect by profession, is a member of the steering team, to make sure that it will be so.
Shmuel Galbhart wrote:
"Since the tunneling of the tracks will take years, the interchange will be completed, but in the smallest dimensions, with minimal damage to the coast."
Although you managed to reduce the damages a little, the beach there is so narrow, therefore any additional construction is destructive.
The municipality should have immediately announced loudly and clearly that it was stopping the bridge project, since she is uncompromisingly going to fight for the sinking of the track, or for a train tunnel project.
Unfortunately, in the light of my familiarity with Yona Yahav's urban history, I am not at all risking my prediction:
1. The construction of the bridge will continue.
2. The train route will be electrified without sinking.
Today I told an old Haifa friend about this strange issue of a municipality that wants to build a huge interchange on the waterfront in the most beautiful connection between the mountain and the sea.
An interchange above a train that the municipality demands to be removed because it blocks residents' access to the sea.
So the same friend replied to me in despair: "Come on. Go and see the interchange at the Kiryat Ata intersection. They've been building and destroying and building and destroying for 20 years.
Do you really think that someone thinks now that if they sink the train in a few more years then there is no reason to build a bridge here now and destroy it in the future?"
To me it is sad that people have become so accustomed to this frustrating reality.
In my opinion, you don't have to be a road scientist to look at the model of the ugly interchange at the most beautiful point in this city and understand that without the railroad tracks
It is possible to connect the Bat Galim neighborhood to Sderot Hagana in a much simpler and more beautiful way.
As someone who knows the history of the failed interchange, from its first day as one of the opponents, and later as someone who reduced its dimensions, I will try to clarify:
A. From the beginning I argued that the connection to Bat Galim should be by the continuation of the road connecting Allenby St. to Hagana St., adjacent to the Maritime Museum.
Instead of lowering it to Hagana Blvd., a completely unnecessary connection, they should have left it at a high level, passing over Hagana Blvd. and the train,
and go down to Bat Galim. However, the real goal was to "steal" a connection to the marina, nothing else interested the municipality at that time.
B. After I assumed the position of deputy mayor, and in charge of engineering administration, I completely changed the design of the interchange, reduced it to a minimum,
and its whole purpose now is only to lower the traffic, from the "half-interchange" that they have already made, to the Bat-Galim level, as close as possible to the tracks, in order to damage
As little as possible at the beach. I also designated the spaces under it to be used for the surfers' needs. Their representative should take part in the detailed planning.
third. In my planning, I did not refer to the future expansion of the tracks at all, and even now there is no reason in my opinion to refer to it. What authority was there?
Still in my hands, I would make a combined decision, coordinated between all the needs:
1. I would not allow the addition of rails on the coastline, on the contrary, I would move them to the most realistic route, a tunnel through the Carmel.
2. Since the tunneling of the tracks will take years, the interchange will be completed, but in the smallest dimensions, with minimal damage to the coast.
3. The spaces under the interchange will be used, as mentioned above, for the needs of challenging water sports.
Could it be that this city is run by Polish dreamers?
Maybe they want the bridge to look at the train from above
Then according to the theory of relativity it's as if they watered it down
But unfortunately it only works for dreamers...
I hope that this article will lead to a rethinking and perhaps also to the postponement of the works.
I don't know if it's funny or sad, but in the picture of the new interchange you can really see the
The train passes under it
The Municipality of Haifa presents an unequivocal position that the train must be sunk between the Carmel Beach and Beit Dagon.
The municipality even embarked on a justified public campaign in this regard and is investing a lot of resources.
In view of the campaign to sink the train, the question arises as to why the municipality is at the same time promoting the completion of the Allenby Interchange, which is designed to move traffic over the train that is supposed to be sunk.
We believe that in view of the aggressive campaign of the Haifa municipality to sink the train, it is right to freeze the interchange plan at the moment until the decision on this matter is clarified.