Israel Matzav

Just what we didn't need: Another nightmarish Jerusalem traffic jam

The problem with running any kind of event in the streets of Jerusalem or any other city in this country is that there is no Sunday, and any event on the streets will therefore lead to nightmarish traffic jams. Already, the day of the Jerusalem Marathon has become 'optional' for most school kids in the city. But at least that event is meant to benefit and to be participated in by the population at large. This event strikes me as benefiting no one other than the rich kids who are going to drive in it. But because it is going right past the Old City - on a Friday yet - it is going to turn the city's streets into an unmitigated disaster.

In a first, Formula 1’s internationally renowned race cars and drivers will traverse the capital’s streets Thursday through Friday, accompanied by models designed by the nation’s leading race car engineers.

The event, part of Formula 1’s “Peace Road Show,” will feature world-class cars and drivers representing Ferrari, Mercedes and Audi – as well as models constructed by Ben-Gurion University’s student race car team, “Ben- Gurion Racing.”

“Jerusalem joins other leading cities in the world which hold motorsports events attracting hundreds of thousands of spectators who contribute greatly to the city’s economy, tourism and world image,” said Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat, a former race car driver, upon announcing the venture in April.

“The planned track is beautiful and attractive, combining the Old City walls and Jerusalem’s unique landscape with one of the most popular sports in the world,” he added.

...

Still, the elite cavalcade – scheduled to travel from the Cinematheque to the Sultan’s Pool, on to the Tower of David, through Mamilla Boulevard, past the King David Hotel, on to Liberty Bell Park, by the Old Train Station, and back to the Cinematheque – will result in numerous street closures.

“I think it’s great that [the road show] is coming here, but it’s going to be a major headache for regular drivers like me to get around,” said a Jerusalem resident, who requested his name not be published.

“There are always positive and negative things that come with [events] like this,” he continued. “I’m trying to focus on the positive, but not looking forward to all the street closings.”

...

The Peace Road Show is open and free to the public, although tickets to a specially built grandstand will be available for a small fee.

Designated roads will be closed to traffic on Thursday from 12:30 p.m. to 8 p.m., and on Friday from 7:30 a.m. until 4:00 p.m. 

That means that the entire area around the Old City including the trolley and the most popular pedestrian mall in the city are not go most of Thursday and Friday. And traffic jams will back up both ends of the city. This will be as bad as when Obama left here on a Friday afternoon - and that was a disaster too.

If you read the whole thing, you'll discover that just about the entire city council opposed this as a waste of money (which it is - this is one of the poorest cities in the country) and Mayor Nir Barkat pushed it through. So the beer and tobacco crowd is coming to Jerusalem to tie up the city on a Thursday and Friday... while the under-21 soccer championship is going on.

Barkat is up for reelection next year. He's just lost my vote. What a buffoon. 

Labels: Jerusalem, Nir Barkat

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 1:48 PM