J’lem’s light rail
With regard to “Residents of Jerusalem’s German Colony say light rail extension will ruin Emek Refaim” (July 20), as an undiluted example of prime and politically blinkered stupidity, this scheme has to take first prize. After all, why wouldn’t anyone, without a trace of morbid cynicism, run it along a nearby defunct railway line when one could destroy the trade of scores of shops and restaurants on one of Israel’s best shopping streets, which has been favorably compared to London’s Hampstead High Street?
Emek Refaim has developed over the past three decades into an attractive, cosmopolitan and successful venue for hundreds of thousands of Jerusalemites and tourists, all of whom spend millions upon millions in its boutiques and eateries. It therefore is with the minimum of consideration that those in local government have deemed it advisable to destroy all of this and reproduce the dusty and barren chaos that was Jaffa Road for too many years rather than attract visitors from home and abroad. Advisable, that is, to reemploying Rehov Harakevet as the preferred route of a new line from Malha via the City Center to the outer suburbs.
One should ask oneself whether the sanity of those associated with this example of perverse planning was ascertained prior to their appointment to their positions on the planning committee or, failing that, whether the ghost of the Holyland project still stalks City Hall.
STANLEY COHEN
Jerusalem
Gil Troy’s “Dear Mayor Barkat – Save Emek Refaim!” (Center Field, July 20) is right on. But I don’t understand why we need two parallel light rail lines about a 10-minute walk apart, when one of them, Hebron Road, is ideally structured for a light rail.
Moreover, as we are now on the cusp of a revolution in transportation, with smart selfdrive cars available within 10 years, why not make the grid smart so that we do not have to sit at red lights when there is no traffic the other way?
If it were up to me, I would first do the Hebron Road light rail, see what happens as a result, and then see what is happening with transportation in general before destroying either Emek Refaim Street or the wonderful Rakevet Park.
S. MORRY BLUMENFELD
Jerusalem
I presume that, like the rest of us, Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat has enough sense to ignore the hyperbole in Gil Troy’s column, where the writer speaks for the birds while painting a picture of tanks running through flowerbeds.
Emek Refaim Street is for the opulent. Most of us could never afford to purchase a home there. According to my wife, the local supermarket is known to be the most expensive in the city. Aside from the burger joint, on my minimum wage I could never dream of enjoying dinner at one of the upmarket restaurants lining the street. And the boutique stores are pricey. Sentiments are for the rich. In the long run, if bulldozing a railway line along Emek Refaim Street will eventually make my daily commute and the daily commute of thousands of others easier, I say go for it, Mr. Mayor. Chop down as many trees as you have to!
DANIEL ABELMAN
Jerusalem
In response to Gil Troy’s impassioned plea, City Hall has another plan, even more destructive than the one for the light rail through Emek Refaim. It has approved the digging of a huge dump for construction waste in Wadi Og, between French Hill and the Arab village of Isawiya. This dump will harm the physical health and sanity of an estimated 100,000 residents. Nearby Hebrew University and Hadassah Medical Center will be afflicted by noise and dust. The dump could also become an international scandal, since the inhabitants of Isawiya and other nearby Arab areas are sure to riot. Hamas gains, big. Powerful interests are behind the ruinous plans for both of these projects, and citizens are locked in a David versus Goliath fight. Only this time, Goliath wins. There are alternative solutions, but they require imagination and possibly more money. As Troy mentions, it would be possible to run the tracks down Hebron Road or even through a tunnel under Emek Refaim Street. Another solution is the SkyTran, a revolutionary new system of transportation being developed and initiated in Tel Aviv. Mayor Nir Barkat should keep in mind that if he realizes his dream of running for prime minister, there are hundreds of thousands who will never vote for him.
CAROL CLAPSADDLE
Jerusalem