It’s been 50 years since the Golda Meir government decided to build a subway in Tel Aviv. The project included Transport Minister Shimon Peres, Interior Minister Yosef Borg, and Finance Minister Pinchas Sapir. In a month or two, a train will run under the city of Tel Aviv. However, the ride along the entire line will take much more than an hour, which is longer than the Israel “Heavy” train from Petach Tikva to Bat Yam.
Although the light rail will provide a solution for hundreds of thousands of passengers, it is a slow, busy, and crowded transportation with limited transportation, with an average travel speed of 20 km/h, and 51 intersections and 450 traffic lights along the way. The real solution will only come when there is a complete network of transportation, below and above the cities of Gush Dan. The Ministry of Transportation is afraid that Israelis will feel momentarily in Europe and then rightfully return to loitering.
The Gefen company paid NIS 5 million for “51% of a company that holds the potential of over 2,400 apartments for marketing.” However, when most of it is still deep in theory, it’s probably not worth paying more than NIS 4,000 for an apartment on paper. Parks in Israel have always been a privilege saved for last. Ramat Gan municipality initiated a celebration of flower sculptures, art, and huge light displays, but the access to the national park was almost exclusively through a small, narrow, and intimate single-family neighborhood.
It is allowed to be excited. Exactly 50 years ago, in April 1973, the Golda Meir government decided to finally advance the old dream (even then) of building a subway in Tel Aviv. The government ministerial team included Transport Minister Shimon Peres, Interior Minister Yosef Borg and Finance Minister Pinchas Sapir.
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And here, in another month, maybe a little more, a train will travel under the city of Tel Aviv, on its way from Tikva to Bat Yam. Only then, and without suppressing joy too much, will we discover that not much has changed. “It’s hard now – it’s hard later too.” Relief will come, if at all, at a much later stage.
I also write about myself here. As a resident of Petah Tikva, whose system is located in the west of Rishon Lezion, I waited for the opening of the red line, so that I could go to work by public transportation. Although it will only reach Bat Yam, with a promise on the ice to extend it at some point to Rosh Lat, but it was clear to me that from Bat Yam to the west of Rosh Lat it would be possible to reach by bicycle or shuttles – which will start traveling when the new line opens.
Then I found out that the ride along the entire line would take – hold on tight – much more than an hour. Want to hear a secret? Already today, you can travel on the Israel “Heavy” train from Petach Tikva (Kiryat Aryeh) to Bat Yam (Yoseftel) in 37 minutes. The road to Tel Aviv by Israel train or buses is also faster.
Without meaning to, we got the worst of both worlds
This is not an obituary for the light rail. It will provide a solution for hundreds of thousands, who will get on and off at the 34 stations between Petah Tikva and Bat Yam. NTA, the government company responsible for the line, estimates that 234,000 passengers will ride it every day. Along the way, it will dramatically improve real estate in many areas along the route and will make us feel almost like we are in Western cities abroad.
But it’s good to know right now what it doesn’t have. After all, this is a rather slow solution, which will be busy and crowded from day one, and on the other hand, irrelevant to most of the residents who live and work in Gush Dan.
Many Israelis are not aware of the difference between a light rail, the one whose launch is being celebrated, and the metro. Certainly when our light rail travels in many parts underground – mainly under Tel Aviv, due to the whim of Mayor Huldai at the time who wanted to have a subway like abroad (or at least like in Haifa). Without meaning to, we mostly got the worst of both worlds: because of the trip Underground and the huge cost of going above ground, we will get much fewer stations in the center of the metropolis (6 in Tel Aviv and 2 in Ramat Gan, out of 34 stations in total), and because of the above-ground travel, we will get a means of transportation with limited transportation, with an average travel speed of 20 km. Q, and no less than 51 intersections and 450 traffic lights along the way.
By the way, because the train will rightfully enjoy a complete advantage over the cars at those intersections, take into account that we will also hear the cry of the passengers of the private cars (and buses) who will have to wait at every meeting point. If that’s not enough, the underground stations may be less friendly, and even threatening, at night or in general, and suffer from accessibility problems. While the overhead stations will be required to place a driver on each train, which is expected to make the solution to the Shabbat on Shabbat far away.
Despite everything, the road to the metro is still long
The real solution will only come when there is a complete network of transportation, below and above the cities of Gush Dan. One that will remind us how much of a shame it was decided to start with a hybrid and slow solution, 3 light rail lines. Even if here and there it is underground, it is far from being a true metro. The metro will announce a subway that will finally be autonomous and fast (40 km/h on average), without encountering cars or pedestrians. But it is deep in the planning stage, and with a transportation minister who is making it clear that nothing is finished. -1,200 passengers, 3 times the capacity of the light trains.
And perhaps, this is also the reason for the many delays in launching the first line of the light rail. Everyone understands the Sage’s article: “The expectation of salvation is greater than salvation itself”. After decades of promises, the Ministry of Transportation simply fears that the Israelis will feel like they are in Europe for a moment, and then rightfully return to loitering. Fortunately, Peres and Golda can be blamed.
stars of the week
Excellent: the deal that shows how much an apartment is really worth potentially
Along with the momentum of urban renewal (24% of construction starts in 2022), hundreds of entrepreneurs and real estate companies have sprung up in recent years, growing at lightning speed and brandishing a huge portfolio – “the potential of thousands of apartments”. The formula was profitable: without buying expensive land, usually even without Binding agreements or submitting plans, you could start signing tenants in an old building and tell everyone how big you are, “and automatically build extremely profitable towers”.
This week we received an excellent, short and important reminder of the real numbers of the market. To what extent must the “tycoons” of the industry be treated with limited liability. The Gefen company, controlled by Tzachi Abu, reported to the stock exchange that it paid NIS 5 million for “51% of a company that holds the potential of over 2,400 apartments for marketing.” Yes, the potential is huge. And yet, when most of it is still deep in theory, it’s probably not worth paying more than NIS 4,000 for an apartment on paper.
Insufficient: when the park is between freeways
In the Jewish state, parks have always been a privilege saved for last. We did not return to Israel to play in the gardens, and it is always more urgent to erect buildings for housing, commerce or industry. Therefore, put the parks usually at the edge, for those who really need some green. Here and there the city did get closer to the park (for example around the Yarkon in Tel Aviv), but in most cases it remains far away, trapped between huge roads and lacking entrances.
This week everyone who tried to get to the free event – “a celebration of flower sculptures, art and huge light displays” initiated by the Ramat Gan municipality in the national park, which sits on the southeastern edge of the city – found this out the hard way. A wonderful “national” park, only one whose access is almost exclusively through a small, narrow and intimate single-family neighborhood. A bottleneck that has become a cocoon of nerves and cars in the last week, of the residents of the neighborhood and tens of thousands of visitors who mostly tried to escape.