Committee demands pollution monitor for new highway

Ra'anana and Herzliya residents' action committee demands trees.

By MIRIAM BULWAR DAVID-HAY
The Ra'anana and Herzliya residents' action committee on Highway 531 is demanding that a pollution monitoring station be set up and that trees be planted along the length of the planned highway, reports www.mynet.co.il. Residents committee members toured the planned highway route last week along with a representative from the national infrastructure committee, and presented her with proposals for reducing noise and air pollution, as well as for preserving the view. According to the report, the residents' committee initiated the tour in an effort to find ways to reduce the pollution from construction work on the highway as well as future pollution from the many vehicles that are expected to travel along it. Highway 531 is being planned as a major east-west artery from the Trans-Israel Highway in Hod Hasharon across the southern edge of Ra'anana and the northern edge of Herzliya to the Coastal Highway, and work has begun in some sections. The report said that Ra'anana city councilor Meli Polishook-Bloch, who has led the fight against the highway, presented a proposal for a pollution monitoring station to be set up even before construction work begins. Residents' committee members also said that trees should be planted along the length of the highway to reduce noise and air pollution and prevent damage to the view. No response to the demands was reported, but an Interior Ministry spokesman said great care would be taken to prevent harm trees outside the planned asphalt route.