(haipo) – Residents in Haifa are raising a claim regarding one of the city's central locations, the entrance to the Lin Medical Center, where they claim a tree is hiding a sign indicating a no parking ban.
According to the residents, there is a parking lot designated for ambulances at the entrance to the medical center, followed by a number of parking spaces designated for people with disabilities. However, a tree has grown near the parking spaces, which obscures the sign and makes it very difficult for drivers to see the parking instructions. The result, they claim, is a situation in which drivers may commit a parking violation in good faith, simply because the sign is not visible and clear to them when entering the location.
The sign is hidden.
A sign must be clear and visible.
The issue is not limited to aesthetics or maintenance and landscaping. A traffic sign is a means by which the authority informs the public of a binding traffic arrangement. The Ministry of Transportation states in its guidelines for placing traffic signs that their placement and maintenance should be done in a manner that allows road users to understand the traffic arrangements. The guidelines serve as a legal professional basis for traffic sign authorities and the entities responsible for planning, implementing, and maintaining roads. The State Comptroller has also previously explicitly addressed the phenomenon of traffic signs and signs hidden by trees and vegetation, and noted that a traffic sign may become a safety hazard when it is hidden by vegetation or another factor.
It is important to emphasize: Hiding a sign does not automatically make any parking report illegal, but in the event that a driver claims that the relevant sign was not visible or reasonably discernible, the question of visibility and the driver's ability to know about the prohibition may be significant in examining the report.
The sign can only be seen under the tree.
Why is the municipality waiting for complaints?
The case at Lynn Medical Center also raises a broader question about public space maintenance. Should the local authority wait for a resident's complaint to discover that a tree is obscuring a sign, or should it proactively conduct scans and mapping of such hazards?
The city has thousands of traffic signs, directional signs, and parking regulations, and at the same time, trees and vegetation continue to grow along the streets. Therefore, periodic inspection of the visibility of traffic signs can prevent situations in which drivers fail to read the instructions and may later find themselves with a parking ticket.
In the case of spaces designated for the disabled or for ambulances and emergency vehicles, the importance is even greater. An invisible sign may create confusion among both drivers and users of the space.
The Haifa Municipality stated: "Pruning work is being carried out (today, 3/9/26) on site, by the Gardens Department, as part of a concentrated pruning activity in the area."
Poor municipality, suddenly they do work right when you complain ("work" = someone comes to cut a branch)
A few words….on a branch of a tree
The mistake they generally make is that they park in a parking bay.
In Haifa, there is almost always free parking on sidewalks, traffic circles, and on driving lanes.
It's a mistake to look for parking bays, let alone pay for Pango or Sellopark in Blue and White.