(Live here) – A large portion of the public parking lot adjacent to the Baha'i Gardens is fenced off today
(Tuesday, 14/05/25), a move that led to the loss of dozens of parking spaces (about 20 parking spaces) and direct harm to area residents, business owners, and visitors.
The video obtained by the "Hai Pa - News Corporation" team shows that a fence has been erected in the public parking area, significantly reducing the usable area. The parking lot has become unusable - a vehicle parked next to the fence will prevent the movement of other vehicles, which could lead to unnecessary blockages, towing and traffic jams in the heart of the Carmel Center.
The complex in question has served residents of the Yaffa Nof neighborhood, visitors to the Baha'i Gardens, tourists, hotel guests and local business clients for years. The entire area suffers from an ongoing parking problem, and the unilateral move to define the area – without information or signs informing the public – raises serious questions.
According to business owners in the complex, buses park there regularly, sometimes blocking access to six stores at once – which is harming their livelihoods. Now, after the fence is built, the harm could worsen.
Residents and business owners demand clarification from the municipality:
- Is this a temporary or permanent process?
- Has a preliminary assessment of the impact on the public been conducted?
- And did the contractor operating on site receive proper approval, or was this a unilateral move using the "successful" method?
The clear call from the public is for a rethinking of long-term parking solutions – and not immediate steps that harm the fabric of urban life.
The side parallel to the Yaffe Nof parking lot has approximately 20 parking spaces (Photo: Gal HaCohen)
Haifa Municipality's response:
The parking lot in question is a private area for which the Haifa Municipality issued a seizure notice under the Local Authorities Law – and it was expropriated for the purpose of temporary use of the area as a parking lot for the benefit of the general public. Meanwhile, representatives of the Building Supervision Division went to the site to check whether the contractor's work on the site is being carried out legally and in accordance with permits.
We hope that following the appeal, the municipality will work with the contractor to move the fence into the construction site area - thus enabling the continued use of public parking for the benefit of residents, visitors, and business owners.
Private space, not a regulated public parking lot, and there is no harm to either residents or businesses.
Simply take public transportation, which is abundant in the center of Carmel.
About 20 bus lines and another Carmelit. Enough to destroy Haifa because of private cars.
Only private vehicles, not for financing the predatory monopoly Egged
The whole parking and driving thing in Yafa Nof is outrageous, guests from the sector park in double parking lots near the promenade for school graduation or wedding photos, and from there they drive down in convoys and honk their horns constantly all the way to Zionist Boulevard, zero enforcement, unbelievable, third world
The municipality sold the land to a developer in a lentil stew. A residential project and a hotel on the scale of Panorama Towers are supposed to be built on the land. Public parking was not taken into account in the projects being built on the site.
Thank you for the publication in Haifa. I hope that following the Haifa system's appeal, the problem will be addressed by the municipality and the fence will be moved back about 1 meter.
As long as the parking is useful mainly for Haifa guests and less so for surrounding residents,
Parking will be allowed in the parking lot and parking will be prohibited on Yaffe Nof Street and the surrounding area.