(live here) – After years of complaints from residents and repeated dangers in emergency situations, the Haifa Municipality, with the assistance of the "Yefa Nof" company, is currently advancing plans to design and implement four new roads to improve accessibility to the neighborhoods trapped in the Carmel Ridge. The move comes as part of the Descents from the Ridge project and is part of drawing lessons from the severe waves of fires the city has experienced in recent years, as well as from dealing with two rounds of fighting that directly affected the functioning of the neighborhoods in emergency situations.
This is an infrastructure move of paramount security, civil, and planning importance – one that can save lives, improve the daily routine of residents of the confined neighborhoods, and implement an old urban vision that has remained on the shelf for many years.
Four advanced projects, one already in progress
the first one Among the projects launched is Kabir road, which connects the small neighborhood to the urban transportation network. The work on the ground is in full swing and at an advanced stage, and is expected to significantly ease accessibility to the neighborhood both in routine and in times of emergency. Alongside it, Three additional projects Which are in advanced planning stages: Lincoln–Tel Aharon Highway, An important traffic route designed to improve access to the southern entrance of the ridge is awaiting renewed discussion in the District Committee.
Golda Hills Plan, which seeks to connect the Ramot Remez and Neve Sha'anan areas, is expected to be discussed in the local committee as early as the end of May and submitted to the district later this year, And the exit road to Denia, which offers an additional connection to one of the city's disconnected neighborhoods, was discussed yesterday (Monday, 12/5/25) in the local committee and is expected to be discussed in the district committee this September. In addition, a plan is currently being examined for a new transportation connection to the Carmelia neighborhood, which also has only one exit and is defined as a "closed neighborhood."
- Kabir road
- Lincoln–Tel Aharon Highway
- Golda Hills Plan
- The exit road to Denia
Insights from the Exodus
The need to open new traffic routes to the trapped neighborhoods has repeatedly been on the public agenda after the wave of fires in 2010 and the major fire in 2016, which exposed the danger of the lack of alternative escape routes. Even in recent wars, and especially in the event of alarms or missile strikes, it became clear that many residents are unable to evacuate in time – simply because they have nowhere to go.
The municipality, which now recognizes the urgent need, is trying to speed up the processes, even if some of them still encounter planning difficulties, resident objections, and cost considerations. However, the current approach of the city leadership is clear: no more neglect of the trapped neighborhoods.
The Haifa Municipality informed Haifa: "Haifa is currently advancing, with the assistance of the "Yefa Nof" company, the planning and implementation of four new roads as part of the project to descend from this ridge as part of drawing lessons from the previous waves of fires and the two wars that the city experienced and to improve accessibility to the enclave neighborhoods. This is a safety issue of the highest order. The Kabavir Road is currently in advanced stages of implementation. Additional projects that are in advanced stages of planning: The Lincoln Tel Aharon project is awaiting renewed discussion in the District Committee.
The Golda Slope plan is expected to be discussed by the local committee at the end of May, and submitted to the district in the last quarter of this year. The exit road to Dania was discussed last night by the local committee, and is expected to be discussed by the district this coming September. The Carmelia connection project is in the planning and review stages.
The municipality published the summary of the discussion that took place last night regarding the construction of an additional exit road to the Danya neighborhood.
The Haifa Municipality's Local Planning and Building Committee approved a recommendation to the District Committee to submit a plan for paving an additional access road to the Danya neighborhood. According to the plan, designed by the "Mansfeld-Kehat" architectural firm and supervised by the Municipal Engineering Administration, a new road approximately 600 meters long will be paved, connecting Rubinstein Street in Danya and Harduf Alley in Tirat Carmel.
The road is intended to serve as an emergency escape route and allow residents of the neighborhood access to major transportation arteries via Tirat Carmel and Highway 11. This move is in line with the State Comptroller's recommendations to prepare additional exits for neighborhoods that suffer from limited accessibility, and is part of a broader plan to address the trapped neighborhoods. Mayor Yona Yahav said after the decision: "This is an important step and of paramount safety importance. After the fires and wars we have experienced, it is clear that we need to ensure that escape routes are functioning. This is a commitment to human life."
Just don't destroy the little Haifa nature we have left.
Do the residents of the sought-after and expensive neighborhoods on the mountain in Tirat Carmel agree to their connection to the failing and cheap "Dania" neighborhood?
After all, this will lower prices in Tirat Carmel…
Another transportation lawlessness is the planning of the Tel Aharon Lincoln neighborhood - while canceling Tadal Street - a real immediate danger to life for residents living next to the pine grove located on the road route - while disconnecting the Carmel Ridge axis (Mapo Street) from the coastal plain - while seriously harming the landowners in the Tel Aharon Lincoln complex - and disconnecting the Carmel Ridge axis, in both directions to the coastal plain, as stated above. So in practice, they are not taking care of solutions for trapped neighborhoods, but are wasting public money on irresponsible planning, another planning format that will not be implemented, and this for irrelevant reasons that are leading the city of Haifa to transportation chaos and danger to life - while seriously harming the landowners in the Tel Aharon Lincoln complex and while loading up on claims for compensation that may dismantle the city and lead to the appointment of a committee called by the Ministry of the Interior as a continuation of the failed leadership that is running the city of Haifa in lawlessness. I grew up.
Summarize what you are trying to say.
I'm not familiar with the planning process.
But the plan implies that the connection will happen.
What problem you are trying to raise is unclear?
How will the fact that they will build a continuation of the neighborhood there (after Lincoln) become a life-threatening situation if they connect it to the coastal plain with a road?
The cancellation of the road detailed above regarding the Ramat Gural plan creates a disconnect between the Neot Peres neighborhood, the Mordot Freud neighborhood (Neot Pass East) and the Neot Navon neighborhood (the southernmost point) with the Carmel Ridge axis - deadly traffic chaos for the entire new area that has been established in recent years and is expected to include thousands of new apartments in the coming years in the Sammy Ofer Stadium neighborhood - simply traffic lawlessness and deadly danger in emergencies - and there are good reasons for this lawlessness - in the absence of the rule of law, things are not being addressed.
In December 2021, the 'Ramat Gural' plan was published for approval, theoretically including 2,040 apartments, instead of approximately 3,500 units allocated in the 2000 plan (the comprehensive plan for Haifa that was published for approval in 2019). In practice, according to the theoretical 'Ramat Gural' plan, only 600 units can be realized - which will also not be built - and the reason for this is the lack of a transportation solution to drain vehicle traffic west to the coastal plain. The Ramat Gural neighborhood is planned with a serious omission as a neighborhood dependent on the use of private vehicles due to fundamentally incorrect road planning that includes roads with a sharp, difficult, inaccessible, unfriendly longitudinal slope, and prevents walkability. The neighborhood is planned as a closed neighborhood – and the obvious absurdity is stark in light of the cancellation of the road route approved in the 2000 plan, which was intended to create a transportation connection from the Ramat Gural neighborhood westward to the coastal plain – a transportation connection intended to serve the other neighborhoods, including: Ramat Begin, Mordot Golda, Ramat Golda, Ramat Almogi, the Carmel Ridge axis (Horev Street) and the neighborhoods connected to it – the Ramat Gural neighborhood was planned and born in sin, and the parties responsible for its planning and approval chose the wrong path to approve and perpetuate a planning failure that harms the landowners and residents of the existing neighborhoods – while creating a real danger to the lives of thousands of residents in the city of Haifa – while creating another transportation failure that leads to transportation chaos that affects large parts of the city of Haifa – and all of this has happened and is still happening in recent years and right now.
Hopefully these crystals will also allow for better traffic congestion and not fall to Nimby and siphon off public funds from the neighborhood residents. If it's only for emergencies, it will be opened, so that the neighborhood residents will band together and pay at their own expense. You can't just take property tax money and increase housing prices and not give the Haifa metropolitan area the right of way and networks.
Dear Liron, the goal is not to create a solution to traffic jams. The traffic jams, which are artificially created, mainly by canceling previously approved roads, are supposedly intended to be eliminated by pouring billions of shekels from the public purse (Ministry of Finance and Ministry of Transportation) into megalomaniacal projects that are not suitable and will not truly solve the problem. Rather, the billions will only be poured in after the cry of Haifa residents is heard in light of the transportation chaos that is expected to befall us in 3 or 4 years with the occupancy of the new houses in Neot Navon and other neighborhoods. Then those billions will reach the right pockets and the public appointees, those inspectors and officials, in the Haifa Municipality and its associated entities, so it is suspected, as well as government officials who release the money, will settle their financial affairs, for their families, at least until their grandchildren, and peace be upon Israel, they, so it is suspected, will benefit from control over public money and this will settle their private affairs, the artificial problems of transportation. Only a small part will be regulated, so what else do you want regarding transportation, transportation is less important, what is important is the combine. Therefore, approved roads are being canceled, new plans are being created without proper transportation solutions, and in general, they are creating a fire hazard and other dangers in the city, and according to the suspicion, everything is for personal gain and there are no real solutions.
Good morning to Yona and Moti, it is important and vital for both parties. In the event of a tsunami following an earthquake, no one can determine where the epicenter will be, the residents of Tira will seek a way to Dania, and will be welcomed with a brotherly greeting.
One of the main tasks that the planning authorities and the Haifa Municipality are required to do is to maintain public safety. The Haifa Municipality and the planning authorities have been outstanding for many years in their lack of solutions to the long-standing planning negligence that has created confined and dangerous neighborhoods. Today, they are enlisting public and public advertising about the days of the Messiah in which solutions are being implemented. It is good that there is supposedly awareness, but from here to practical and correct solutions there is still a long way to go, and I will detail some of the transportation failures in this regard below.