Tunnel could cut under Rehavia to ease traffic

Getting from Sacher Park to Independence Park in Jerusalem today requires a slow crawl through the crowded arteries of the upscale Rehavia neighborhood. A new municipal plan, which includes a tunnel connecting the two parks, could spell an end to the heavy traffic flowing through the neighborhood's Rambam Street, which connects the city center to the government quarter and the Jerusalem-Tel Aviv highway.

The traffic in what was once a quiet garden quarter is disturbing the residents and some claim it has impeded Rehavia's development. The new plan, long in preparation by architect Nahum Meltzer, was filed yesterday at the municipality so the public can register objections or comments.

After the public comment period, the plan will be hashed over by city hall and assuming passage, will become an binding document for the next decades. The plan does not detail the tunnel but only offers it as one option to alleviate Rehavia's traffic troubles.

The plan also includes the setting up of two large underground parking garages beneath the neighborhood, one close to the President's Residence and one close to the Gymnasia Rehavia school.

Local activists criticized a part of the plan dealing with construction in the neighborhood. They claim the plan does not set aside enough buildings for preservation, and on the other hand could encourage so-called "ghost apartments" - exclusive housing constructed and marketed for foreign residents who spend only a few months a year in Jerusalem.

The plan does provide for strict preservation of 12 buildings and monuments, including the Great Synagogue and a British mandate-era "pillbox" post, in which no demolition or changes will be allowed. Another 129 buildings are marked for external preservation only.

Naomi Tsur, deputy mayor and the municipality's conservation czar, said that the plan balances conservation and the neighborhood's natural need to grow.