Comments on: Will the Tel Aviv Light Rail Ever Happen? Do We Want it To?

By: Tel Aviv Will Ban Trucks During Morning Rush Hour in Attempt to Reduce Congestion | Green Prophet

Mon, 18 Oct 2010 06:47:11 +0000

[...] long-term plans for a light rail system in Tel Aviv fell through a few months ago, politicians have been scrambling to offer the city another efficient public [...]

By: Tel Aviv Demolishes Old Bus Station, Plans to Replace New One - Sustainable City Blog

Sat, 22 Aug 2009 14:05:07 +0000

[...] It sometimes seems to me that there must be some kind of curse on all things transportation in Tel Aviv. The traffic jams are unbearable, the drivers obnoxious, the buses lousy and the bus station even lousier. And who even knows if the light rail/subway project will ever actually happen… [...]

By: Nick B

Nick B — Sun, 09 Aug 2009 10:12:53 +0000

Toronto is absolutely right. Not investing in public transport is false economy, and you pay a higher price in terms of congestion, delays (which affects the economy) and pollution. I used to live in Athens and getting around was a nightmare. It suffocated not only the city’s air but led to a stagnant mentality and ‘can’t do’ attitude. The dramatic expansion of public transport has been of huge benefit to citizens and economic development, making access to jobs easier and hence better market attraction. The same needs to happen in Tel Aviv, overeliance on cars is simply not sustainable. In fact Tel Aviv should be planning not just light rail but a full Tube and 100% accessible bus fleet such as exists in London. Tel Aviv should aim to have a ‘London Transport’ of the Middle East.

By: Skyscraper City | Sustainable City Blog

Skyscraper City | Sustainable City Blog — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 13:01:06 +0000

[...] volumes about the city’s planning policy. Increasingly, the mythical light rail, which is still not even close to implementation, is looking like a smoke [...]

By: greenprophet

greenprophet — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 14:45:11 +0000

Will the Tel Aviv Light Rail Ever Happen? Do We Want it To? http://tinyurl.com/5dx2qy

By: Devori

Devori — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 23:47:01 +0000

A significant issue here is the high mortality rate due to automobile accidents on the Israeli roads. Just today, the heinous deaths of these Russians on the tour bus down by Eilat! If there was a light rail, the safety would be a huge comfort to travellers.

By: From Toronto

From Toronto — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 15:32:21 +0000

Also I should refer you all to take a look at a very popular public transport discussion-blog here in Toronto by a fellow named Steve Munro, who has been an expert on the matter for over 30 years.
His articles are extremely insightful, and many of them have relevance outside of Toronto, and give an impression of what the issues might be in Tel Aviv in the future.

http://www.stevemunro.ca

By: From Toronto

From Toronto — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 03:40:58 +0000

I am a transport engineer here in Toronto, Canada, and I have a great interest in Tel Aviv’s planning/transportation problems; when I see a relatively young and growing city such as Tel Aviv, I like to compare it to our experiences here, and I sincerely hope that you can learn from some of our mistakes and successes.
To me it seems that Tel Aviv is in much the same situation that Toronto was in 50 years ago: a young, fast growing city that is trying to decide what its development and transport model will be for the next 5, 10, 25, and 50 years. Here in Toronto, we have followed two paths: on one hand, we have built a strong public transport system of buses, light rail, and subway, but on the other hand we have also built and widened many roads and highways, and allowed the city to sprawl out in an uncontrolled way. We have the second busiest public transport system in North America (behind New York), but we also have highways that have grown and grown (one of them is 18 lanes wide, and yet traffic is the worst in North America). The lesson that we have learned from all of this has been startlingly clear: every new road that we have built, and every lane that we have widened, have filled up very quickly, mostly because they encourage more and more people to move into newly served areas and use the new roads. You can never, ever catch up, and this is now well understood in transport planning here.
Meanwhile, our public transport system was for many years neglected and ignored, and yet it now serves as the most efficient way to get around. Finally, after years and years of leaving the transit system alone and investing in more and more cars and roads, we have realised it is futile.
TEL AVIV, DON’T MAKE THE SAME MISTAKE WE DID! INVEST IN HIGH-QUALITY, HIGH-CAPACITY PUBLIC TRANSPORT, EVEN IF THE COST IS VERY HIGH, BECAUSE IT WILL ALWAYS PAY OFF.

By: Devori

Devori — Mon, 15 Dec 2008 19:57:27 +0000

I agree with Justin. It seems a lot is “banking on” this, as there have been so many shekels invested in the Tel Aviv light rail project so far. It doesn’t sound like all hope is lost, as negotiations are still in progress. If they had failed truly, then that announcement would have been made.

An underground would be the safest in case of rocket blitzes, and surely have less traffic too – a crucial need for Tel Aviv!!! If they’re going to spend several billion shekels on the light rail, why not invest on more underground if at all possible? Why do we in Israel have to be light years behind the rest of the world? It’s time we had a solution: The light rail in Tel Aviv!

By: Justin

Justin — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 16:53:44 +0000

Jesse, I absolutley agree with you that perhaps we should question the validity of the proposed light rail plan

In fact yes I take it a step further – it should be scrapped, entirely – and not because its a bad plan – but because, and this is where we don’t agree – a city like Tel Aviv needs a comprehensive mass transit system that is, I’m sorry to say it, but underground.

Yes that’s right, underground. In densely populated Metropolitan Tel Avivthere is simply no room for more surface public transport -even if it was Curitiba-eqsue style system. This is a small country and the surface should be dedicated to buildings, parks and other urban activities as well as roads and paths, that, yes serve cars and busses that will compliment underground system.

If planned properly, that includes the support of the decision makers -in ensuring budgetary allocations do not promote roads and private motor vehicles (something we are yet to see), an underground system will not only be efficient, but viable and will be attractive to BOT companies.

Economic crisis or not – it will pass and ‘plonking’ more and more vehicles on the surface (cars, busses, Curitiba-style busses or light rail) is simply not the solution.

I join you in calling for the scrapping of the Light Rail – but in favour of a real subway.