(haipo) - The Haifa Municipality's plan to regulate public parking in the Check Post complex, which included painting more than 1,200 parking spaces blue and white and converting them into paid parking, has not yet been canceled, but it has not yet been launched. After a struggle by business owners and merchants in the area, who claimed a severe impact on their livelihoods and customer base, the municipality decided to postpone the implementation of the plan, and it is now being re-examined by professional bodies and the city administration.
In September 2025, the Haifa Municipality announced a broad move to regulate public parking in the Check Post complex, one of the main commercial and employment areas in Haifa Bay. According to the plan, more than 1,200 parking spaces throughout the complex were to be marked in blue and white, with the aim of creating a higher turnover of vehicles, improving parking availability and making it easier for visitors and customers.
The enforcement was scheduled to begin on November 2, 2025. The planning was led by the "Yefa Nof" company, while the operations manager of the Haifa Municipality was in charge of the actual implementation. The municipality explained at the time that the move was intended to provide a solution to the increasingly severe parking shortage in the area in recent years, along with encouraging commercial activity by improving traffic flow and reducing congestion. It was also claimed that reducing vehicle turns in search of a free space would contribute to reducing air pollution and improving safety in the area.
Among the streets included in the plan: Yaakov Moshili, Sderot HaHistadrut, Mordechai Maklef, Shlomo Ben Yosef, Hanafah, Mashbhir, Baalei Melayachah, Marconi, Yohanan the Sandaler, Harmesh, Rozov Shmuel, HaBovani HaFreemasons, Leshem, Eliezer the Builder, Hashalag, HaMosesi, Leon Stein, HaKornes and the Workshop.
The merchants' struggle halted the move.
However, shortly after the plan was published, fierce opposition began from business owners in the Check Post complex. The merchants claimed that turning parking in the area into regulated, paid parking would directly harm businesses and drive away customers, especially those who come to the complex for extended periods of time for shopping, services, or work. They claimed that while competing shopping centers and commercial areas outside Haifa offer free and abundant parking, introducing a fee at the Check Post would harm the complex's competitiveness and could lead to a significant decrease in the volume of visitors and purchases.
The struggle included appeals to the municipality, protests by business owners, and public pressure, which ultimately led to the municipality announcing the postponement of the plan in order to re-examine the full range of transportation implications and challenges in the area.
To the question: What happened to the program?
The Haifa Municipality informed Haifa: "The issue is still under consideration by the professional bodies in the municipality and the city administration. If a decision is made to regulate parking in the area, the municipality will work to carry out an orderly process of informing and updating business owners and relevant bodies in the complex."
I think the parking lot should remain as it is today.