The garden is closed to the general public for the entire Passover holiday – Haifa residents are furious

(haipo) – The dragon exhibition that is about to open at the Mother Garden and the zoo during the Passover holiday is causing controversy among residents of the area. Due to the exhibition, the Mother Garden will be closed to the general public for about 4 weeks – a move that prevents residents from enjoying the public space during this period. Residents claim that the decision to close the garden completely disrupts their daily lives, and claim that other solutions could have been found that would allow the exhibition to be held without blocking access to the park.

Closing the garden for the exhibition – anger among residents

Residents living near the Ham Park recently discovered a sign from the Haifa Municipality announcing the park's closure for four weeks. They say this was done without prior notice, and the possibility of using the park was simply blocked from them.

Currently, the garden is closed for the construction of the exhibition, and once it is built, the park will only be open to those with paid entrance tickets. One resident who lives near the garden expressed his protest: "It's nice to have an interesting exhibition so close to home, but why should it come at the expense of our garden? Admission is expensive, and the complete closure of the garden hurts everyone who uses it on a daily basis."

Lack of consideration for the needs of residents

Residents of the area come to the Ham Park to carry out many activities – hikes, picnics, sports, spending time with the children, and also bring their dogs to the dog park. Now they are completely denied this option. "This is the only park around here, we have no close alternative," explains another resident. "The exhibition could have been held in Hecht Park, which is much larger, and without harming the residents of the neighborhood."

Residents also criticize the way the municipality treats businesses in the area. “The business owners in the area and the nearby high school were not given advance notice that the kindergarten was going to close,” says one resident. “It was a sudden change, and the fact that the signs don’t address the fact that the cafe in the kindergarten is staying open creates confusion.”

Feeling like a "prison" in the cafe

The cafe located in Gan Ham is now surrounded by fences, and its customers feel "imprisoned." Although access to it is still possible, the resulting appearance is not inviting. "The place feels like a closed compound, as if it were a construction site and not a cafe," says one visitor.

Another resident notes that in the past, during major events like the film festival, the Mother Garden was used, but access to it was not closed. "At the film festival, the public could still enter and enjoy the garden, even without purchasing tickets. Here they left no such option."

Ticket cost – expensive for residents of the area

Another issue that is causing outrage is the price of tickets to the exhibition. Residents claim that the benefit for Haifa residents – a discount of only 10 shekels – is not sufficient. “Various clubs offer much larger discounts, but here, even though the nearby residents lose their garden for an extended period, they do not receive a significant benefit,” explains one of them.

Closing the tunnel – harming accessibility

In addition to the closure of the kindergarten itself, the tunnel that connects the Panorama Center to the Ham Kindergarten has also been closed, further limiting accessibility to the place. "A year and a half ago the tunnel finally opened, and now they've closed it again without thinking about the people who use it," says another resident.

Call for alternative solutions

The residents hope that the municipality will find solutions that will allow large events and exhibitions to be held without disrupting their daily lives. "It was possible to choose a different location, find a way to keep the park partially open, or offer appropriate compensation to residents who are affected by the closure," they say. "Such decisions should be made taking into account all factors – and not just from a profit perspective."

The Athos company, which is producing the event, stated:
"After 6 dry years in which Haifa residents were forced to spend time outside of Haifa, we managed to bring the International Dragon Exhibition to Haifa, combining children's artist Roy Boy and admission to the Haifa Educational Zoo - all in one ticket.
The construction of the large exhibition requires, for safety reasons (operation of cranes to place 5-meter-high dragons, trucks and containers unloading the equipment), a temporary closure of the Mother Garden during the construction period until 3/4/25, and then during the exhibition's operation until 19/4/25.
The "Neighbors" cafe, the fitness center, and the disco will continue to operate as usual, and of course we will maintain safe and continuous access for the children and instructors of the "Children's Kindergarten" with special needs, who will be invited with their parents to visit the exhibition and the zoo free of charge.
As an alternative to the temporary period during which the Mother Garden is closed, "Hecht Garden" will be opened to the public, families and children, behind the Hecht House, and together with the nearby Mania Garden will provide a temporary solution. Signs were hung informing the public of this, an announcement was made on the Athos website, the Haifa Municipality website, and WhatsApp messages were sent to residents.
"Haifa residents were given a discount on purchasing tickets for the event. The time has come for Haifa residents to also be able to spend the Passover holiday in their city of Haifa, and for businesses in the center of the Carmel, who, like everyone else, have experienced a difficult period, to also have the opportunity to make a decent living."