As a result of long deliberations held by the Jerusalem
branch of Degel HaTorah and the UTJ faction of the Jerusalem
Municipality with the city's traffic officials, it has been
decided to revamp the traffic arrangements of the chareidi
centers of Geula, Meah Shearim and their environs.
In this veteran center, traffic simply comes to a standstill
a number of times a day, especially on arvei yom tov.
Illegally parked cars totally block the ongoing flow. Private
cars, maneuvering with nearly acrobatic skill, only add to
the confusion.
Finding a solution seems impossible because of the tremendous
congestion and limited space. However, the Municipal
Committee for the Allocation of Planning Assignments, headed
by Rabbi Uri Maklev, decided to solicit new proposals to
alleviate the problem. A million shekel proposal by the
office of Avraham Gialchinsko has been accepted.
One of the most difficult problems is the shortage of parking
spaces. There is no orderly parking on the streets of these
neighborhoods. Merchants claim that parking fees would deter
customers from shopping in those areas. In addition, area
residents demand that a parking zone be designated for their
personal needs. Store owners who leave their cars parked in
this congested area all day deprive potential customers of
precious parking space. A suggestion was made to grant store
owners free parking tickets for a limited number of hours a
day.
All of these suggestions, to benefit the chareidim who are
the main frequenters of the commercial areas of Geula and
Meah Shearim, will be seriously considered.
The opening of the new Rav Shefa shopping mall on Shamgar
Street did not lessen the congestion in Geula. Instead, it
brought about further congestion in the area of the Shamgar
funeral home.
Residents of the chareidi center of the city also complain
that on Beis Yisroel Street, near the Mirrer yeshiva, traffic
is chaotic. Drivers park cars there without any consideration
for the traffic which is supposed to flow through this narrow
street. This problem is especially serious since both sides
of the street are lined with carpenters and other workshops,
and large trucks load and unload merchandise there all day
long. Since the street is two-way, traffic is constantly
blocked. The number 10 bus, which tries to inch through
oncoming traffic, must frequently stop for long periods,
frustrating the drivers and the passengers. For some reason,
no municipal inspector or traffic policeman may be found in
the area: perhaps the reasoning being that since there is no
orderly parking zone there, they can't give fines.
Frequenters of the area asked the Degel HaTorah faction to
consider this problem while planning the new traffic
procedures of the chareidi centers of the city.
