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(haipo) - The phenomenon of parking on crosswalks, sidewalks and traffic islands is expanding throughout Haifa and is becoming a real risk for pedestrians, both adults and children. While in commercial areas and urban centers this is a well-known nuisance, the phenomenon has recently spread to quiet residential neighborhoods and worsened significantly on weekends and holidays.

Parking violations are spreading to residential neighborhoods and endangering the lives of pedestrians - where is the enforcement?

Many residents throughout the city report that they repeatedly encounter vehicles parked on sidewalks and in crosswalks, until this phenomenon has become a permanent obstacle in their daily routine. People with special needs who move around in wheelchairs, parents with strollers and children, have to go down to the road to pass due to vehicles blocking their way. The result: Real life danger and a sense of lawlessness.

"I'm already afraid that my daughter will go out alone," says M., a resident of Carmelia. "The sidewalks are blocked, the crosswalks are inaccessible, and I'm afraid she will be hit by a car."

In a conversation with Lahi Fe, M. expresses her deep frustration with the dangerous routine of life in her neighborhood: "On the weekends it's already dangerous to walk around the neighborhood. I'm afraid that my daughter, who just wants to go to the playground or visit friends, will be forced to go down the road because of vehicles blocking sidewalks and crosswalks - and what if God forbid A disaster? This situation repeats itself every holiday and weekend. I contacted the police and replied that it is not in their area of ​​responsibility. Why do we need to call and complain instead of the enforcement agencies acting? Fines must be imposed to create a deterrent, before a disaster occurs."

Parking at a crosswalk (photo: Hay here in the field)

In a face-to-face conversation, a resident of Derech Hayam, the father of a girl (his name is withheld in the system), describes the dangerous reality in his neighborhood: "On the weekends, I go out with my daughter on a scooter or bicycle, and it has become a danger to lives. Residents park on the crosswalks and block them completely, even In the alleys leading to the sea, this is an intolerable situation that requires immediate action on the part of the authorities - whether it's the municipality or the police. You can't continue to endanger pedestrians and wait A disaster will happen, due to a lack of care and enforcement. It's time to take the issue seriously and act decisively."

According to residents, the lack of enforcement creates a feeling of helplessness and reinforces the problematic conduct. Carmelia, Carmel French, Kabir and other areas in the city of Haifa suffer from the phenomenon. Even in the alleys, which are usually quiet and pleasant, there are vehicles that completely block the crosswalks. On weekends, the parking problems worsen, and residents describe a situation where illegal parking has become a "regular procedure". The residents demand a clear and immediate solution: increased enforcement, giving reports to parking offenders, and restoring the sense of security to pedestrians. "We cannot wait for a disaster for someone to wake up," adds one of the residents. "We need to act now, before it's too late."

Parking at a crosswalk (photo: Hay here in the field)

The offense of parking on a sidewalk in Israel is regulated by the traffic laws. The laws refer to this, both in the sense of maintaining the right of way for pedestrians and out of concern for public safety. The relevant traffic laws state that you should not stand or park a vehicle on a sidewalk, except in cases where there is a sign that expressly allows this. Parking on a sidewalk is considered a parking violation, and a fine can be imposed.

The amount of the fine varies according to the local authority and the specific offense: in many cities the fine ranges from 250 to 500 NIS, but there may be exceptions. In particularly serious cases, such as a complete blockage of a sidewalk or a risk to pedestrians, the enforcement authorities may tow the vehicle. Enforcement is carried out on by local authority inspectors, and sometimes by the police.

Haifa Municipality gave a response to Haifa: "As of June 2024, the Municipality of Haifa is adopting a strict enforcement policy, within the framework of which the Municipal Enforcement Division carries out parking enforcement in the city's neighborhoods based on calls from residents, received at the municipal call center, with an emphasis on cases involving parking on sidewalks, crosswalks, handicapped parking lots, and squares - something that endangers The road users, including: pedestrians, the disabled and the elderly, who are forced to get off the road and thus putting their lives at risk."

Parking at a crosswalk (photo: Hay here in the field)

contact: At watsapBy email

Samar Odeh - Carantinji
Samar Odeh - Carantinji
Journalist in the team of correspondents of the Chai Pe site • Municipal reporter, crimes, environment and health Contact Samar by email: [email protected]

Articles related to this topic

22 תגובות

  1. The municipality should initiate regular enforcement in all city neighborhoods, and not just wait for calls from the residents. In practice, a very small percentage is reported

  2. For 6 months now, a car has been parked at the entrance to the building and obstructs exiting the building. The car is parked on the sidewalk and obstructs all pedestrians from passing.
    The car is loaded with a lot of parking reports...
    Does it help me that an inspector decorates the vehicle with parking reports? The inspector doesn't see his daily decorations?
    The problem does not go away for the suffering citizen...

  3. The inspectors see the dangerous nuisance,
    And they dare not do anything!!!
    Fear today paralyzes everyone
    Everyone fears for their lives,
    As, and especially the judges in Israel,
    The punishments of criminals and murderers are reduced
    Fearing for their lives they...
    It's a shame and unfortunate how the country is run
    No wonder many young people left the country

  4. Anemic response from the municipality.
    They're just saying - there's no enforcement of theirs and in evidence they continue to park on sidewalks without any hindrance.
    I once saw an inspector pass by a driver who had just parked his car on the sidewalk and the inspector did nothing, he just kept walking.

  5. Brash people. Instead of parking properly but a few minutes walk from the house, people throw the car where it left. In the middle of the road, on bends, on crossings and where not

  6. 415 deaths in road accidents in 2024
    (361 in 2023)
    Jungle on the roads. Jungle on the sidewalks.
    A municipality that allows crime on the sidewalks and forces parents of elderly children to go down to the street
    to overtake blocking vehicles. No quality of life. There is no safety on the sidewalks. It's systems madness.
    Lack of municipal enforcement of blocking sidewalks and double parking inside a road = 100% fault of Haifa municipality.

  7. The mayors in Haifa are weak and submissive and we all pay the price for it
    A city that could have been Monaco becomes Mogadishu

  8. This week I received a fine for stopping the car on the sidewalk for the purpose of buying flowers at the intersection of the streets of Afo / Horev. There is a camera above the traffic light and it took a picture and sent it.
    I'm sure I won't park like that again.
    Sorry !

  9. I have the perfect solution to move the Technion and the University to the southern entrances of Haifa to establish student dormitories there and that way in the city you will see fewer cars and more parking spaces and also less traffic jams.

  10. The city inspectors just walk around the sidewalks marked in blue and white to see who hasn't paid for parking...besides that they don't care about anything. Only money. In addition to that, I live in Romma in Keren Hayesod and there are events there - like this week and every Hanukkah - we have nowhere for the residents to park. Why don't the municipality or the police station inspectors or policemen and let only the residents of the neighborhood in??? Why? Because there is no one to talk to and no one is interested Nothing. The city of elders with an old mayor

  11. The response of the municipality, which points to its conduct, is outrageous and disappointing.
    When my son walks, and a car is parked on the sidewalk or at the crosswalk, he will not call the hotline, and will have to go down to the road, risking his life.
    When I'm driving on the road and a car blocks a lane, or parks at a crosswalk and hides my way, I won't pick up the phone to call a contact, in most cases, after I've already passed the hazard.
    Despicable conduct. Even on main thoroughfares, vehicles park on sidewalks and roads, and the municipality does nothing. Zero enforcement.

    • 100% right
      The municipality does not need to wait for reports as it knows how to hand out parking reports that will give reports on blocking sidewalks
      I'm fed up, it's impossible to walk normally in any neighborhood because of so many tin cans.

  12. The question should be, it's not where the enforcement is, it's where the parking lots are? Why doesn't the municipality take care of parking spaces? After all, every year the amount of vehicles increases and relying on public transportation even in Haifa in many areas is simply impossible. So the number of vehicles that each family in Israel has is many times greater than the number of vehicles there were 30 or more years ago. But the amount of parking lots, especially in residential neighborhoods, is small and they don't try to solve it, no wonder people are forced to park on sidewalks, traffic islands, on the sides of the road and in places that sometimes cause a risk for pedestrians or buses and garbage collection trucks... Before starting to punish the people, the municipality must provide parking solutions for the residents And that, unfortunately, no one demands from her city...

    • Very true!!! (Enforcement creates anger and does not create regulated places to collect kindergarten and school children.)

      One more thing - *yes* you have to take into account near schools during the pick-up hours of the "Olelim" students of the elementary sects - there is no possibility to pick up the child/children when dozens of vehicles are waiting for about 5 to 10 minutes for the child's arrival!!! "Hug and go" is a solution for the "lucky ones" and reports should be avoided during the hours of picking up "children" from school, sometimes it is "grandma" or "grandpa" who come to pick them up themselves, it is difficult to walk miles from the school gate.

  13. Where is the enforcement? ???
    where is the parking
    The municipality for years approved construction without parking infrastructure. What are residents supposed to do with their vehicles when there are no parking spaces?

    • They are not obliged to give you parking. If you don't have parking within the lot, then you don't have parking.
      Take taxis and public transport. If you want a car, move to an apartment with a parking space.
      I'm sorry to tell you, but it's not the job of the municipalities to provide it to you at home.

    • Very true!!! (Enforcement creates anger and does not create regulated places to collect kindergarten and school children.)

      One more thing - *yes* you have to take into account near schools during the pick-up hours of the "Olelim" students of the elementary sects - there is no possibility to pick up the child/children when dozens of vehicles are waiting for about 5 to 10 minutes for the child's arrival!!! "Hug and go" is a solution for the "lucky ones" and reports should be avoided during the hours of picking up "children" from school, sometimes it is "grandma" or "grandpa" who come to pick them up themselves, it is difficult to walk miles from the school gate.

      And Yael - I wish there was public transportation!!! (which is the role of the local authority/municipality and the state that allowed "a car for every worker" if you remember that period... and did not limit
      (And no concern for *public* parking spaces as distinct from "private parking" and/or no concern for public transportation and with reasonable frequency)
      The number of vehicles in your possession normally! But you agree that it doesn't make sense for a grandmother or grandfather who is still able to come every day to pick up grandchildren in a taxi!

      What do you think?!

  14. It would be nice if along with the enforcement and issuing of fines there was also an initiative to train parking spaces, something that would prevent people from parking on sidewalks.
    In the streets adjacent to commercial centers, the parking spaces are occupied by casual visitors and the residents of the streets are forced to park on the sidewalks for lack of choice.

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