Hundreds of cyclists and rollerbladers will take to the streets of Tel Aviv on
Monday night demanding that all Knesset candidates commit to allocating at least
1 percent of the Transportation Ministry budget to maintaining cycling paths,
the organization Israel for Bikes said on Sunday.
In the past four years,
bills encouraging the use of bikes and increasing the safety of their riders
have been repeatedly blocked in the Knesset, despite the fact that their
creators have hailed from the government’s major parties, according to Israel
for Bikes.
Likewise, new bicycle parking regulations that the Interior
Minister approved last year also ended up frozen. The Transportation Ministry
budget dedicated thus far to bicycle infrastructure development has been
minimal, amounting to less than 1% of the ministry’s expenses, the organization
said.
“Despite the existing understanding of various government
ministries that there is a need to encourage cycling on a daily basis, as part
of a healthy lifestyle and for quality of life, environment and increased
accessibility for the public, and despite the supposed commitment to act to
increase the safety of cyclists, the investment is still negligible,” said Alik
Mintz, founder of Tel Aviv Rollers.
Aside from Tel Aviv, where the
municipality spends about NIS 30 million annually on bike infrastructure and has
about 120 kilometers of paths, the country is not reaching its cycling
potential, the group argued. In second place as far as bike paths are concerned
is Herzliya, with only 17 kilometers.
Israel for Bikes is therefore
calling upon Knesset candidates to support a bill immediately following their
election to encourage cycling – including bike path construction, parking space
installation, workplace showers and economic incentives to push people to
cycle.
The bill, launched by Environmental Protection Minister Gilad
Erdan and Education Minister Gideon Sa’ar, passed in its first reading in 2008
and received additional support from Transportation Minister Yisrael Katz,
Finance Minister Yuval Steinitz, Culture and Sport Minister Limor Livnat, five
other ministers and 65 other Knesset members, the organization
said.
Israel for Bikes also asked that the forthcoming Knesset members
quickly approve a second bill that would increase the safety of cyclists,
requiring drivers to maintain a distance of 1.5 meters from cyclists and
granting riders priority over open doors of parked cars, the group
added.
“We invite the general public and cyclists to vote with their two
feet [Monday] evening and show decision-makers that there is great support for
cycling infrastructure development,” said Yotam Avizohar, CEO of Israel for
Bikes.
Avizohar encouraged Israelis “to exercise their right and civic
duty and take advantage of this day of rest, not only through leisure and
shopping but also by walking – or riding – to vote.”
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