A., a resident of Jerusalem's Katamon neighborhood, took his two young children on foot to the neighborhood kindergarten. But as he walked, he was shocked to see that a vehicle was blocking the nearby sidewalk completely. As befits an exemplary citizen, A. reported the hazard to the municipal hotline using an online form and asked them to deal with the matter because it was impossible to cross. From the response he received from the Jerusalem municipality, he was even more amazed.
A few minutes after the report to the municipal hotline, one of the inspectors called and told him that he could not comply with the request for a particularly puzzling reason: "At the request of the neighborhood community manager, we do not carry out enforcement on Hashomer Street."
The vehicle blocking the sidewalk (Photo: official website, none)
"It turns out that there are points in Jerusalem where the law is not enforced properly," A. told Walla!. "It happens quite a bit in the neighborhood and it's dangerous to walk with children because you have to go down to the road and cars don't see you. I feel like my life is being disrespected."
According to him, there is an agreement between some representatives of the community administration and the municipality, that there are places where parking arrangements are not enforced when it means endangering daily lives: "This is an arrangement that we are struggling with, but to receive such a direct answer is really an admission of the agreement."
The Jerusalem Municipality said in response: "Parking enforcement is carried out for the benefit of all residents in the city, while setting regional policy according to the needs and possibilities of each neighborhood, in coordination with the community administration. As part of this policy, each neighborhood and its proper parking aspects are addressed, while making enforcement adjustments in the neighborhoods, including with regard to neighborhoods where there are no parking spaces for apartments built with the building permit. It should be noted that the Jerusalem Municipality's Enforcement Division emphasizes enforcing life-threatening offenses and interfering with traffic and pedestrians."
Following Walla!'s inquiry, it was announced that the matter will be examined in the coming days.
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