While baseball season ends, fence around Hayarkon Park remains
City to promised to take down fence as soon as games ended, but has only removed the fence on the baseball compound's eastern side.
By Yigal HaiThe Israel Baseball League ended August 19, but most of the fence set up around Sportek field in the heart of Hayarkon Park has not been taken down, contrary to the city's promise.
The IBL games of the last two months were run by a private American company and the Israel Association of Baseball, which rented, built and fenced a 15-dunam area in the park, after much wrangling with city officials.
The field was not ready for play for the first quarter of the season.
The city promised to take down the fence as soon as the games ended, but so far has only removed the fence on the compound's eastern side.
"The fence is an obstacle in the middle of the park," environmental activist Yisrael Schwartz said Monday. "The compound looks like Ketziot prison."
The Tel Aviv branch of the Society for the Protection of Nature commented on the situation that "18 percent of the park is already covered by buildings. Leaving fences on such a large area of the park reduces the public's options of enjoying an open, quiet park space."
Municipality spokesman Hilel Partok said the city would remove the obstruction.
"The city made no commitment to the baseball league for the future," said Partok. "If any of the new fence remains, it will be removed immediately. However, some of the fences are old ones, from the baseball field that used to be there."
Why Facebook Connect?
Comment on Haaretz.com articles with your Facebook login, and share your thoughts on your own wall.
- Latest
- Most Viewed
- Most Rated
- Open all
Perhaps if the enviornmentalists had attended a baseball game during the summer, they would have realized how much pleasure people got from the baseball games played on the field. I have been to the park, and the fence does not look like a prison so perhaps this group has either 1)something against baseball or 2)just way too much time on its hands with too few "causes" to address. I certainly will take this into consideration the next time I am asked to contribute to a "greens" cause. Leave the fence for the year, come to a game and then say that it doesn't serve an enjoyable purpose. Unless, perish the thought, there is some unmentioned agenda driving the group!!!!!!
Perhaps the city could open the field (once the fence is dismantled) up to motorcycle and bicyclists - like they have the city's sidewalks! Always looking forward (but rarely with logic!)
The environmentalists must be bored. A 4 ft. fence is around the baseball field!!!! Let's worry about the air, the municipality's plans to develop every green space in the city and the like. Maybe there are some people that would like to play baseball during the off season?