The section that has already been inaugurated on Weizmann Street in Kfar Saba. Now there will be no continuation (Photo: Lavi Aerial Photography)
Rafi Sa'ar, Mayor of Kfar Saba (Photo: Kfar Saba Municipality)
A month after the inauguration of the first stage of the public transportation route on Weizmann Street in Kfar Saba, where bus lines serving the entire Sharon region pass, Kfar Saba Mayor Rafi Saar agreed with the Ministry of Transport and Ayalon Highways to halt work on the continuation of the project. There is currently a 1.5 km dual lane in each direction, after the sidewalks have been renovated and widened and a bike path has been added. But the full 8.5-kilometer plan was frozen.
The project, which was launched in 2016 as part of the Ministry of Transport's Fast to the City project, which includes the construction of more than 100 kilometers of priority lanes for public transportation, in order to promote an alternative to traffic jams, and enable residents and those who do not own a vehicle to reach their destination outside the city more quickly. Dozens of bus lines pass through the street, many of which serve the entire Sharon region.
Map of the NTA that has already been paved. Serves dozens of lines from all over the Sharon (Photo: Ayalon Highway)
However, like other public transportation projects, such as light rail and the metro, the project has been opposed by residents who use private vehicles, due to the transfer of lanes to buses, and the traffic disruptions created by the works. Saar had been trying for some time to stop the project, but during Minister Merav Michaeli's tenure, the ministry refused to do so, threatening the municipality with fines in case it violated the agreement it signed with the ministry to continue paving. Now, just months before Sa'ar runs again in the mayoral election, he can present his opponents with a victory.
Sa'ar, who a year and a half ago the local media in the city published his intention to stop the project, claimed yesterday that the project does not meet the city's needs and that the Transportation Ministry and the municipality will work to formulate an annex that will include the municipality's agreement to implement the Tchernichovsky Route and Sharon Road. It was also agreed that the Ministry of Transport would budget for the construction of bicycle paths throughout the city, in accordance with the principles of the municipality's master plan for bicycle paths. However, Saar did not know yesterday how to present the alternative plan that will be advanced, what its schedule is, and how many kilometers of bicycle paths it will include, for example.
Saar: "This is huge news for the residents of Kfar Saba and for users of public transportation and bicycle paths. I support public transportation, but the plan in its original form did not conform to the municipality's policy that I outlined and opposed, and I worked to improve it so that it would improve the city's needs and for the benefit of the city's residents and business owners. After years of negotiations and the Ministry of Transport's firm opposition to stopping the project, we succeeded in bringing about major improvements in what was carried out and stopping the continuation of the project's work. I thank my colleagues in the Ministry of Transport and Ayalon Highway who responded to our requests and helped us reach a better agreement, which provides a real solution for our city and encourages the use of public transportation and bicycle paths."
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Miri Regev, Minister of Transport (Photo: Reuven Castro)
Orly Stern, CEO of Ayalon Highways (Photo: official website, photo: Ruby Castro)
Only a month ago, when the first section of the airport was inaugurated on Weizmann Street, Transportation Minister Miri Regev complimented the project. "There is only one way out of traffic jams, and that is switching to public transportation and leaving the private car at home or in Park and Ride," Regev said. "We are working in many ways to improve public transportation service so that it will be an attractive alternative to the private car. One is allocating exclusive routes for buses, with the goal of doubling the number of kilometres of existing preference lanes by 2027. As part of the 'Fast to the City' project, we are paving a network of public transportation routes and bicycle paths throughout the Dan metropolitan area, and I am pleased to inaugurate today another important segment of the plan on Kfar Saba's main street."
Orly Stern, CEO of Ayalon Highways, who is responsible for carrying out the project, also summed up: "Thanks to the project, from now on city residents will be able to choose convenient, efficient, traffic jam-bypassing and more advanced public transportation." Yesterday, the Transportation Ministry refrained from commenting on the halt of the project, and Ayalon Highways refused to even provide details about the existing plan, details that appear on the company's website.
But a month ago, Nir Eyal, chief engineer of Ayalon Highways, explained how significant the project is for the residents of Kfar Saba and the Sharon. "On this stretch, 70 buses pass an hour, from lines 500 from the Sharon to Herzliya, line 29 from east Kfar Saba through Raanana to Herzliya, and 149 from Weizmann to Tel Aviv," he told Walla.
"Today, buses do this section during rush hour by about 12 kilometers per hour, with the speed will double to 24 kilometers per hour. This will save a few minutes in each direction, which will also shorten travel times in both directions and contribute to the reliability and accuracy of the buses down the road. This route will be integrated into a whole system of lanes that together will make an even greater contribution to public transportation users. This is the advantage of building such routes. A light rail is paved for ten years and only then can it be enjoyed. NTAs are built and opened in stages, and you can enjoy each one as soon as it's ready, you don't have to wait for the whole system," he concluded.
Ilai Har-Segor Gindin, who until recently served as deputy mayor of Kfar Saba and holds the city's transportation portfolio and retired from political life, told Walla yesterday: "It is very sad that a project in which so much effort was invested and which should have brought so many benefits has been thrown into the trash. This is a shortsighted decision. In the long run, there is no other solution to traffic jams other than axes of preference for buses, trains, bicycles and walking. Leaving things as they were won't solve the problem."
But this project was political damage to the mayor just before the election.
"Leadership is not about seeing which way the wind is blowing and doing the same. In Tel Aviv, too, residents initially opposed bicycle paths, pedestrian streets and bus preferences, and today they understand that it was the right thing and saved the city. The residents must be told the truth: a private car is not the solution. It is not possible to create more parking spaces for him in Kfar Sever and more roads. You have to invest in alternatives, even if it's not popular. Anyone involved in transportation knows that this is the truth."
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