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NEWS
Appeal Against Jerusalem's Highway 9: Environmental
Hazard
by S. Fried
The Ramot Environmental Forum has joined with the Forum for
Public Transportation in an appeal to the Jerusalem Regional
Court to put a temporary work stoppage order on the projected
paving of Highway number 9 between Motza on the main
Jerusalem-Tel Aviv highway, and Derech Alon, the "Ramot
Road." The new road would relieve the congestion at the
entrance to Jerusalem, since traffic for the northern
neighborhoods could bypass the current bottleneck near Givat
Shaul. The traffic jams have gotten worse since shooting on
the new road between Ben Shemen and Ramot (route 443) has
made it unattractive to travelers.
The appeal against construction, presented by Attorney Danny
Fish, cites several factors: The existing building permit was
issued illegally and contains numerous deficiencies; the
"acoustics" appendix dealing with the prevention of noise
pollution for the residents of Ramot 02 has not been
approved; and steps necessary to prevent harm to a number of
animals and unique flora and fauna -- some in danger of
extinction -- have not been taken. The project directors have
not received the necessary permits for protection of
protected species, they add.
In addition, the petitioners note that the road would
jeopardize Jerusalem's water supply. They claim that there
are a number of wells supplying water to Jerusalem and its
environs along the planned route. The petitioners oppose
start of construction of this road until implementation of
the Government's decision of August 1997 to give preference
to public transportation. In their opinion, large-scale
investment in construction of this road constitutes
discrimination against consumers of public transportation, as
opposed to owners of private vehicles.
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