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Israel Connection State of Israel Bonds — This is Israel
Environment, antiquities pose unique challenges for Israel’s transportation advances By James S. Galfund ugust 26, 2012 marked the 75th anniversary of an incremental step forward in the annals of Jerusalem transportation – the day the first taxi began plying the city’s streets. In a city of transformative events spanning millennia, it’s unlikely the anniversary garnered much attention, not only because today’s Jerusalem is awash in taxis, but also because Jerusalemites now have the option of being whisked through the capital via modern light rail. Greater Accessibility A visitor from Israel Bonds – the organization that has enabled major transportation advances in Israel – discovered that to ride the light rail is to experience a microcosm of Jerusalem’s diversity. Fellow passengers included secular Israelis, the ultra-Orthodox, devout
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Muslims and camera-toting tourists. Each train has a capacity of around 500 passengers, the equivalent of 10 buses. With a first-stage route encompassing nearly two dozen stops – the Old City (providing the quintessential Israel experience of riding state-ofthe-art transportation past a site of ancient pilgrimage), multiple neighborhoods, the Mahane Yehuda Market and the downtown district – the light rail has changed the way residents work, shop and plan their days. Surveys show substantial increases in pedestrian traffic stemming from the greater accessibility provided by the light rail. Mahane Yehuda, for example, has seen a 38 percent increase, and visits to the popular ‘triangle’ area of King George Avenue, Jaffa Road and Ben-Ye-
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huda Street jumped 34 percent. Overall increases average 41 percent. An added bonus for Jerusalemites and visitors alike has been the conversion of Jaffa Road into a pedestrian mall. A Dramatic Reboot Getting to and from the capital is also undergoing a dramatic reboot. Riding the rails from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem – a distance of less than 50 miles – currently takes 2½ hours. By 2017, the trip will shrink to a mere 30 minutes. The key to the drastic time reduction is the ambitious construction of a complex network of bridges and tunnels. And, because this is Israel, there are additional considerations beyond the obvious topographical challenges inherent in boring through hundreds of feet of solid rock. One is archeological. In Israel, any project entailing digging is sensitive to the fact that priceless artifacts might be uncovered during the excavation process. If antiquities are discovered, work stops and archeologists are called in to examine the relics. Eco-Friendly Responsibilities The second consideration is environmental. Israel is a world leader in environmental sustainability, and Aliza
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Massive tunnels being carved from a hilltop outside Jerusalem are closely supervised by an environmental expert who ensures the surrounding landscape “will be like we’ve never been here.” (Photo: James S. Galfund)
A Guide to Jewish Living in Lee and Charlotte Counties