The Blue Line’s Emek Refaim path was opposed by local residents and businesses owners.
By PEGGY CIDORAn alternate proposal for a tunnel would save both Mesila Park and Emek Refaim Street from the damage created by the work to build the Blue Line.(photo credit: MARC ISRAEL SELLEM)
The strong opposition of a growing number of residents of the German Colony and surroundings to the Emek Refaim Street segment of the light rail’s Blue Line seems to be having an effect on the municipality’s plans.This past Tuesday saw a dramatic development.The regional planning and construction committee – the last stop in the planning and decision-making process – instructed the municipality and the Jerusalem Transportation Master Plan team to present credible alternatives to the planned segment, which would forever alter 1.1 kilometers of the picturesque Emek Refaim byway. The committee approved the Blue Line plan except for that contested segment, and has given the municipality three months to formulate its response.The time allotted seems short. However, the committee has indicated that it looks favorably upon the proposal of the residents’ association for a 1.4-kilometer tunnel under Harakevet Street, which will preserve both the street and Mesila Park – which was until recently endangered, as the only alternative presented – so this relatively short time might be sufficient.Residents’ association president Mordechai Avraham said that he and his partners felt that the “wind was changing direction” following the presentation of the tunnel alternative. The tunnel plan, a detailed proposal prepared by specialized professionals paid by the association, made a significant impression on the committee’s members.“We felt that this was the first major crack in the wall of the Emek Refaim path that was favored by Mayor Nir Barkat and his team at Safra Square,” adds Abraham.“They were all blown away during Sunday’s session by our report on the tunnel option,” adds city council member Fleur Hassan-Nahoum (Yerushalmim), a leading figure in the saga. Hassan-Nahoum, who helped raise the money for the report, adds, “This is a major victory.Hopefully Barkat is beginning to open his mind on this matter.”The Blue Line’s Emek Refaim path was opposed by local residents and businesses owners, who are convinced that several years of heavy roadwork would not only make their daily lives miserable, but would also destroy the delicate fabric of the historical street and forever ruin its chances to recover.The struggle caused antagonism between neighborhood residents and residents of Gonenim and surroundings, who were afraid that the alternative to the Emek Refaim path would destroy the urban gem of Mesila Park. Both sides did their best to protect their assets, but the financial prowess of the German Colony residents made a difference. The money they managed to raise rapidly enabled them to hire engineers and planners who prepared the highly professional tunnel proposal that can save both Emek Refaim and the nearby park from harm.It is a victory that the committee has been convinced that, contrary to the municipality’s position, there is a serious alternative to the Emek Refaim and Mesila Park routes and the tunnel route has a better chance than ever of being accepted.If the 4,000-member-strong German Colony residents’ association wins, then all sides – the municipality, the Master Plan team and the residents – will have to find a way to overcome the bad blood that was created. There are still many issues at stake that will require cooperation between authorities and residents.“I am extremely happy that after a prolonged struggle of a year and a half, the mayor and the planners are beginning to open their minds and realize that there are better alternatives than Emek Refaim,” concluded Hassan-Nahoum.“The feasibility of a tunnel, as presented by top experts in the country, makes it a strong option that the regional committee, the mayor and the planners cannot ignore. The proposed tunnel will not only preserve the beautiful and unique Emek Refaim area with its old trees and historic Templer Compound, but it will also save taxpayers hundreds of thousands of shekels.”
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