BREAKING NEWS

Jerusalem 'Blue Line' given the green light, routed through Emek Refaim St.

By JPOST.COM STAFF

DECEMBER 1, 2016 20:08

Updated: DECEMBER 1, 2016 20:09

The new Blue Line of the Jerusalem light rail will be routed through Emek Refaim street in the German Colony, Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat announced Thursday.

The municipality came to the decision after months of countless deliberations and meetings, as well as reviewing petitions by the area's residents.

Residents of Jerusalem's German Colony have long argued that an extension of the light rail through the community's main thoroughfare would result in damage to historic buildings, bankruptcy for area businesses and a pronounced drop in their quality of life for many years.

The 20 km.-long additional light rail line, named the Blue Line will traverse Malha, Emek Refaim and Ramot, serving up to 250,000 residents from Gilo in the south, to Ramot in the north.

In his statement, Mayor Barkat attempted to reassure residents that the new line would be beneficial to the neighborhood, bring in millions of shekels, enhance businesses and aesthetics, as well as reduce pollution and increase safety.

The Blue Line is due to be completed in stages. Mayor Barkat stated that many lessons were learned from the building of the first line and those will be applied to the construction of the new line in order to minimize disturbances.

Barkat added that the municipality would maintain an open dialogue with the community to provide information and resolve any issues that may arise.

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