Herzliya is planning to build a 22-meter elevator down to the beach and a 24-meter bridge across the mouth of the Glilot River.
By MIRIAM BULWAR DAVID-HAY (TRANSLATED)
The Tel Aviv District Planning and Construction Committee has rejected an appeal by environmentalists against a 22-meter-high elevator and a 24-meter-long bridge being planned to be built at Herzliya's Acadia Beach, reports www.local.co.il. The Appeals Committee ruled that the structures were designed to make the beach accessible to the disabled, and that such a plan should be praised.
According to the report, the city is planning to build a 22-meter elevator down to the beach and a 24-meter bridge across the mouth of the Glilot River as part of its overall project to develop a promenade along the beach. The Local Planning and Construction Committee approved the plans, but the Greens Party appealed against the decision to the District Committee, claiming that the structures would be built within 100 meters of the waterline, a zone protected by law and requiring special plans that include a study of the potential environmental impact.
But the District Committee has now ruled that the planned structures do not encroach on the 100-meter protected area, and added that the planning of a promenade that included installations that enable people with disabilities to gain access to the beach was "more than worthy of note."
"Before us is a good example of the way in which, in our opinion, planning authorities should act with education and values to realize norms of accessibility in public projects and structures so that people with disabilities can get to public places in comfort," a committee member said.
Green councilor Dror Ezra responded that the district committee had made "another miserable decision," and that the planned elevator was an "unnecessary and expensive" structure that would not be used by disabled people. He said his party had suggested a number of cheaper and better alternatives that would provide access for the disabled without harming the beach, but the city had rejected them.
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