City Allies Grossly Inflate Their Numbers by "Stuffing the Ballot Boxes"

On Friday, April 22, 2011, we checked our computers and the following screen presented itself to us, reflecting an on-line opinion poll set up by our community center to assess the attitude of the French Hill, Tsameret Habirah, Giv'at HaMivtar and Ramat Eshkhol communities toward the Project to introduce bike lanes in their neighborhoods. The poll gives four options, with two of primary interest. 816 votes were counted. In favor of the Bike Lane Project just as it is drew 24% of the vote. Totally against the project at all was 70% of the vote.

After two hours had transpired, we checked our computers once more and found that the number of votes had more than doubled in the interim. Nearly all the added votes were cast in favor of the project, increasing the percentage of the tally of the votes in this category from 24% to 45%. A much smaller number were added to the classification that allowed for the bike lanes with minor changes, tallying 20% of the vote instead of 5%. No votes appear to have been added to the tally against the project, decreasing the percentage in that category from 70% to 24%.

The addition of 840 votes to the poll in two hours or less is very suspicious. This only goes to show us that any information derived from the team connected with the Project is not to be considered as trustworthy.

In this case, the community center has not built a polling mechanism that is invulnerable to doctoring and ballot-box stuffing from outsiders. It is reprehensible for the same center to leave this polling page up as though it still provides a proper representation of valid individual votes.

Furthermore, the fact that the city representatives Kobi Bartov and Naomi Tsur should openly utilize this anonymous poll as a valid source for evaluating our community's support for the project (over against the carefully documented petition of nearly 1000 signers with addresses and phone numbers) is laughable and, in fact, potentially criminal.

From our own petition presented at shopping centers and door to door (from Mt. Scopus, French Hill, Tsameret Habira, Giv'at Hamivtar and Ramat Eshkol), among young and old alike, including bicylclists, and residents from varied social, religious and ethnic backgrounds, taxi drivers and bus drivers at least 75% of those asked oppose the proposed project and those that accept it as is are less than 5%.

In light of these manipulations of the assessment of public opinion, with the knowledge of the local community center and the city representatives, there is no way to establish faith in these entities unless they allow us to to speak out fairly and democratically.

We would like to challenge these same city representatives by proposing that they allow a referendum to be executed, where the residents of our communities can say what they really think about the project through casting votes in a carefully monitored setting.

"Narrower lanes make driving safer" - Minor injury accident due to bike lanes

Today at around 4:45 PM, an accident took place between two cars on Etzel Street in French Hill. In one of the cars were two senior women who are long-term residents of the neighborhood. Following inquiries with the drivers and examination of the scene, it is apparent that the accident was due primarily to the hazardously narrow width of the street that is the result of the two bike lanes recently paved on both sides. The cars did not have enough room for maneuverability in order to avoid collision. A wheel of one of the cars even ended up on the curb of one of the bike lanes during the accident.

All of this comes one day after neighborhood residents presented these very same problems on the very street of the accident to the municipal representatives in charge of the bike lane project during an on-site visit. The municipal representatives dismissed the concerns of the residents, claiming that the narrow roads actually make driving safer (it is possible to read a summary of the meeting here). How many more residents need to be hurt until there is a change? Already today one of the drivers was injured!

Two blown-out tires and a damaged body

The narrowness of the street forced the driver onto the curb of the bike lane during the accident. There was not enough room to avoid collision!

The relative state of the cars after the accident

Destroyed front left end and blown out tire

The air bag helps indicate the severity of the accident

"Mr. Barkat ... We demand immediate action, before a major, tragic accident takes place for which the city itself will be held responsible, in particular the city engineer (minor accidents have already taken place due to the changes)!!!" See here for more

Help fix the Community Center's bike lane survey!

Readers are encouraged to visit the French Hill, Givat HaMivtar, Tsameret Habira and Ramat Eshkol Community Center website and vote in the poll regarding public opinion of the bike lane project in the area. The poll is located near the lower left of the page.

This is particularly relevant due to the fact that in the short period of time prior to yesterday's meeting between the Municipality representatives and French Hill residents, the poll went, nearly overnight, from a very strong majority that was very critical of the project, to dramatic and highly suspicious overwhelming support for the project. This is especially suspicious as in the meeting, the head of the project from the Municipality, Kobi Bartov, proudly touted the positive opinion of the poll (it should be remembered that it had only until recently been quite negative). One resident at the meeting critically responded stating that the poll is anonymous, which allows people to vote as many times as they want provided they know how to bypass its very weak duplicate voting safeguard (it is possible to read a summary of the meeting here).

In light of these events, people are encouraged to vote according to their good conscience in order to offset the current dubious statistics.

Meeting with Municipal Representatives - No Progress Forward

Today a meeting took place between representatives of the Municipality and residents of the French Hill area along the streets in which the bike lane project has been and, unfortunately, will continue to be implemented. According to residents in attendance, the meeting was a complete failure and merely served a bureaucratic formality of fulfilling a "community participation" requirement.

The meeting had been poorly publicized to the French Hill community and included dire warnings that only one person per neighborhood was to attend. The result was that the French Hill residents made up only about 50% of the participants at this meeting that was meant to serve their needs. The other half was made up of the municipal managers of the bike lane project, led by Naomi Tsur and Kobi Bartov, and special interest groups that were invited to come along and influence the discussion, most notably members of the Israel bicyclist association. When a resident asked why they were there when the meeting had been publicized as a debate between French Hill residents and the Municipality, the bicycle association representatives asserted that as Jerusalem bicyclists they have a right to determine what happens in French Hill and that those that oppose their current designs for the area are a selfish minority forcing their will on others.

In response to the narrow traffic lanes, the municipal workers replied that people would simply have to learn and adapt. They claimed that French Hill motorists have had it easy up until now and will have to change the way the behave on a daily basis, as will people exiting their parked cars on the street. They spoke of enforcing a "cultural change" on the community and making them adopt new driving and walking habits.

They did not want to deal with the issue of drivers from outside of French Hill who would not have the opportunity to "adapt" to these changes, nor did they wish to deal fully with the issue of the elderly pedestrians for whom crossing the street has become far more difficult and dangerous since the changes have been implemented.

It also seems that local bicyclists will have to undergo special training to use the lanes at various centers that will supposedly be created for this purpose. Bicycles in the eyes of the municipality are a form of vehicle that requires the consent of the authorities to utilize. Gone are the days of childhood joy-rides.

The municipal representatives consistently hid behind their so called "adherence" to the Ministry of Transportation directives for the construction of bike lanes. In regards to the very real and very evident dangers in the street produced by the project that were witnessed during the trip, they quite literally replied that as far as they were concerned, if the plans meet the criteria of the ministry, then they are safe regardless of what the real life situation may look like.

The municipal representatives also made a small number of vain and dubious promises in an attempt to pacify residents and prevent further discussion of particularly problematic issues. One such issue was the fact that the bike lane trenches fill quite frequently with leaves, dirt and trash, making them extremely hazardous for use. They promised they would have the lanes cleaned on a regular basis. However, given the poor quality of the construction as well as the opinion of experts, they clearly do not have the budget to uphold such a commitment. Another issue was that they would meet the needs of handicapped residents by creating a raised area across the bike lane canal at each parking place of these residents. This clearly does not take into account residents moving in and out of the neighborhood, and it is very doubtful that they will create such a raised passage for each new disabled resident of the French Hill area, not to mention the fact that it will transform the ill-concieved bike lanes into a confusing route with a seemingly endless amount of ramps going up and down.

All-in-all, residents are very disappointed with the treatment they received today. They do not feel that they had real partners in dialogue. They do feel that their very serious safety concerns are being brushed aside. While a variety of serious safety issues were raised that would normally require a complete rethinking of the project, the municipal representatives and special interest groups allowed for these issues presented by the residents to be listened to one-by-one, isolated from each other, and subsequently dismissed one-by-one. There seems to be no real intent on the part of the city to deal with the overall problems that plague this project, but rather a desire to implement it as soon as possible regardless of the consequences to the local residents.

Haaretz Newspaper: J'lem bike path proves danger to bikers, pedestrians

The Haaretz Newspaper published today a report on the bike lanes in North Jerusalem:

"The Jerusalem municipality has created bicycle paths through the French Hill and Givat Hamivtar neighborhoods, but the paths' design is a nightmare for cyclists, motorists and pedestrians alike..." For the rest of the electronic version click here

For the Hebrew version, click here.

Petition: Cessation of the French Hill and Ramat Eshkol Bike Lanes

Last Thursday evening and Friday, volunteers from the French Hill community collected signatures for a petition against the bike lane project. This is its content:

To Mr. Nir Barkat, Mayor of Jerusalem

Since our repeated attempts to engage in discussion have been met with a forceful and disrespectful attitude on the part of the Municipality in general, and the Division of Transportation, in particular, we are forced to turn to you with this petition:

We the residents of French Hill and Ramat Eshkol oppose the bike lane project in our neighborhood in its current form (although some of us do support the general concept of a bike lane). The manner of planning and implementation of the project, as well as the choice of route for paths, has hurt us in two primary forms:

• Extreme safety concerns for all travelers along the streets and sidewalks – drivers, pedestrians and bicyclists alike.

• Severe accessibility problems especially for parents with strollers, children, the elderly, the blind and handicapped.

We demand: [1] Immediate cessation of all work; [2] A complete re-planning of the bike lane and the route it takes, which will include comprehensive community involvement; [3] General repairs to all damages and obstacles, and the implementation of the new, community-approved plan.

We demand immediate action, before a major, tragic accident takes place for which the city itself will be held responsible, in particular the city engineer (minor accidents have already taken place due to the changes)!!!

What can we do?

A new page has been added with advice on how to move forward against the bike lane project and the dangers it presents... click here

Urgent call for action

From a resident of the area:

Yesterday (23.3.11) a many-participant meeting was held with the Deputy Mayor and holder of the Chair of Sustainability, Naomi Tzur.

The representatives of the residents, the municipal center and the hotel repeated the explanations on the safety and accessibility issues the project (in its current form) is creating.

Representatives of the Transportation & Infrastructure Development Division and Planing Company stuck to their stance that the project is being carried out according to high standards of safety, and that it is in compliance with all the rules of the Ministry of Transportation.

It was decided:

• To continue the current freeze on the roadwork of the project.

• To have another discussion "in the field".

• A promise was given for Sheshet Ha-Yamim street to create substantial changes before continuing with the work.

• As regards to French Hill, a promise was given to reexamine the safety and accessibility aspects.

By an estimate of the current situation - in light of the stubborn position of the representatives of the planning company - there will not be any major changes in French Hill.

Therefore it is very important to act now!!!

It will be helpful if you can send a personal email explaining you objections to the project to the following Deputy Mayors:

Naomi Tsur - holder of the Chair of Sustainability:

naomi@jerusalem.muni.il

Kobi Kachlon - holder of the Chair of Planning and Construction:

KHyaacov@jerusalem.muni.il

If you know other people who can write emails - please ask them to so as quickly as possible.

Horrifying passage on Sheshet Hayamim

Below are pictures from a resident of Sheshet HaYamim Street showing the horrifying narrowness of the street due to the bike lane construction. There is no room for maneuvering or for error. If a driver or parked car stray from their designated spots, by even a few centimeters, an accident will transpire! Drivers are expected to exercise super human capabilities of constant focus and perfection.

No Advance Notification and No Time to Respond

Evidently we are not the only neighborhood on the planet that finds out about municipal plans after they have already been initiated!

He shifted his weight from foot to foot, but it was equally uncomfortable on each. Obviously somebody had been appallingly incompetent and he hoped to God it wasn’t him.

            Mr. Prosser said, “You were quite entitled to make any suggestions or protests at the appropriate time, you know.”

            “Appropriate time?” hooted Arthur. “Appropriate time? The first I knew about it was when a workman arrived at my home yesterday. I asked him if he’d come to clean the windows, and he said no, he’d come to demolish the house. He didn’t tell me straight away of course. Oh no. First he wiped a couple of windows and charged me a fiver. Then he told me.”

            “But Mr. Dent, the plans have been available in the local planning office for the last nine months.”

            “Oh yes, well, as soon as I heard I went straight round to see them, yesterday afternoon. You hadn’t exactly gone out of your way to call attention to them, had you? I mean, like actually telling anybody or anything.”

            “But the plans were on display…”

            “On display? I eventually had to go down to the cellar to find them.”

            “That’s the display department.”

            “With a flashlight.”

            “Ah, well, the lights had probably gone.”

            “So had the stairs.”

            “But look, you found the notice didn’t you?”

            “Yes,” said Arthur, “yes I did. It was on display in the bottom of a locked filing cabinet stuck in a disused lavatory with a sign on the door saying ‘Beware of the Leopard.’”

From Douglas Adams, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy

Submitted by a resident of the Ramat Eshkol-French Hill area.

The manager of the bike lane project speaks with residents

On the 14th of February, Kobi Bartov, Manager of the Department of Transportation and the Development of Infrastructure at the Municipality, who stands at the head of the Bike Lane Project in North Jerusalem, had a meeting on Sheshet HaYamim Street with the residence to discuss that project. See the video of that meeting.

North Jerusalem Bike Lanes: Safe Passages or Death Traps

W. Rauh's ground breaking study compared the risk of bicycle lanes that were designated only by a painted line on the street as opposed to those which were segregated by a curb. The presence of the curb more than tripled the risk of collisions at intersections for either passing through (3.4x instead of 1x) or for making a turn into or across traffic (11.0x instead of 3.4x). 

The primary reason for the increased risk evidently results from the quick transition from relative confidence in the invulnerability of drivers and bicyclists separated by a barrier to one where they have merged into the same vulnerable space. As the number of intersections and drive ways increase in frequency, the higher the risk.

There are also some hidden risks when there are two separate one way traffic bike lanes on both sides of a roadway (planned for Jerusalem, instead of the usual single lane for supporting two way traffic for bicycles).  In the case of the two separate bike lanes the risk increases exponentially when bicycles emerge from the lanes in order to merge or turn across traffic. 

The fact that there are lanes on both sides of the street, bicycles turning across traffic from both sides of the street increase the risk even more than the risk factor calculated in Rauh's study.

Wolfgang Rauh, in Velo Secur ("Issues of Bicycling Safety"). International conference from 2-5 May 1990 in Salzburg. Conference proceedings published by ARGUS (Working group for Environmentally-friendly Urban Traffic), Vienna, 1991.

Talk with the authorities

The bike lane project is an undertaking of the Jerusalem Municipality and it is therefore appropriate to lodge complaints with them. Firstly send a letter to Mayor Nir Barakat's office (Lishka@jerusalem.muni.il) and call the Deputy Mayor Naomi Tsur: 6297984. Also contact the city engineer Shlomo Eshkol (esshlomo@jerusalem.muni.il) and the following council members:

michals@jerusalem.muni.il	6294597, 6294716	ראש הסגל	מיכל שלם
evyatar@jerusalem.muni.il	6297223, 6297721	דובר ראש העיר	אלעד אביתר
daphna@jerusalem.muni.il	6294959, 6295364	מנהלת לשכה	דין דפנה
roy@jerusalem.muni.il	6297948	מדיניות ותכנון אסטרטגי	פולקמן רועי
hadas@jerusalem.muni.il	6297151	יועצת בכירה לראש העיר	קרני הדס
zohar@jerusalem.muni.il	6294715	יועץ לענייני מנהל ופרוייקטים	זולר זהר
ido@jerusalem.muni.il	6294596	יועץ לפניות ציבור	רוזנברג עידו
orifat@jerusalem.muni.il	6297817	רכזת פניות ציבור	אורון שוורץ יפעת
lvjudit@jerusalem.muni.il	6297719, 6297992	יועצת לענייני שכונות	זבדצקי יהודית
hannah@jerusalem.muni.il	6294597, 6294716	עוזרת אישית לראש הסגל	דלה פרגולה חנה

Call Liat Bechor the neighborhood planner at the French Hill and Ramat Eshkol community center (5416010). Also deliver a complaint or inquiry to the Ministry of Transportation about the bike lane project.

More concerns from amongst the bike riders

Bicyclist H.M. says he finds the bike lanes along HaHagana Street in French Hill to be very dangerous. This is especially the case for the section near the shopping center in which the lane turns into narrow canal bordered by large concrete curbs. He explains that it is very likely for the peddles of the bike to get caught on these curbs which can easily dismount a cyclist. These photos were submitted to illustrate the problem:

He also explains that there is very little room for maneuvering in these canal bike lanes should the cyclist encounter an obstacle such as garbage, a bicyclist coming from the other direction or a parked car's front/rear hanging over the curb into the lane. This is incredibly dangerous considering the speed and momentum of an average bicycle. In such cases the cyclist will either face collision in the lane or possibly fall into the street or on the sidewalk endangering themselves and cars or pedestrians as they try to avoid the obstacle.

Perspective of the bike riders

And what about the perspective of the bicyclists? What do they think about the bike lanes? It seems that most of the are deeply concerned about the safety of the lanes as explains B.K., a French Hill resident and Hebrew University student:

“I have ridden a bicycle in Jerusalem for about a year and a half and ride often. First of all, I appreciate the fact that the municipality is concerned for the cyclists. This is much appreciated, as many cyclists, myself included, know the dangers that do come with cycling.

“However, French Hill is probably not the best place for bicycle lanes. Based on my experience riding around French Hill, I really do not anticipate the bicycle lanes making a significant difference for the cyclists. It would be a different story if they were entirely off the road. However, it seems that they will meet up with the road again at every intersection. I would imagine that most cyclists would affirm that the most dangerous points are at the intersections, where turns are being made, and not the straight areas.

“Also, I do foresee the bike lanes causing more difficulty for many drivers and perhaps even greater danger for them (when it narrows the street).

“It might be more beneficial for everyone (both cyclists and drivers) to refrain from building the bike lanes. I do not see it making a big difference for me as a cyclist.”

If you want to help...

If you are interested in helping to stop/change the bike lane project in the area, please send an email to: frenchhillbalagan@gmail.com

A survey of satisfaction with the bike lane project at the local community center

On the website of the French Hill, Givat HaMivtar, Tsameret HaBira and Ramat Eshkol neighborhoods is a survey (on the left side of the page) asking the public what its opinion is of the bike lanes in the area. Visit the website and voice your opinion.

Strong feelings agains the bike lane project

During the evening of Sunday the 13th of March, a large audience from the French Hill and Ramat Eshkol communities was present at a meeting at the local community center with representatives from the municipality regarding the bike lane project. The angry residents handed out flyers voicing their frustration with the construction. A sampling of the fliers can be seen below.

Complaints of 'Small City' residents against 'Bike Lane Pavement Works'

On the tenth of March, the neighborhood known as "Small City" in French Hill sent a letter of complaint to the Municipality and Local Community Center against the bike lane project along their street after pamphlets regarding the project were distributed in their parking lot. These pamphlets were distributed around Friday the 4th of March, already about two weeks after work on this phase of the project had already started:

These are the contents of "Small City's" letter of complaint: 

We the residents of small city neighborhood protest the bike lane pavement project along Etzel and Lehi street for any or all of the reasons outlined in the attached appendix.

The residents of the Etzel/Lehi area of French Hill protest the bike lane for the following reasons:

1. Work was started on this project without prior notification to the residents. Residents were only notified after work began. Because of this delay in notification, work should be stopped for at least a month so that a proper referendum can be made among the neighborhood residents.

2. No referendum was conducted to see whether there was a need or desire on the part of the residents for such a bike lane.

3. Very few individuals ride bikes in this neighborhood, whereas most families own at least 1 car.

4. The bike lane presents potential dangers for drivers, pedestrians and bicyclists alike.

5. The bike lane reduces available parking which is a serious need for a university neighborhood.

6. The reduction in available parking to a point where there is inadequate parking will lessen the property value of the homes in the neighborhood.

7. Due to the reduction in parking spaces, non-residents visiting the university, hotel or hospital will park illegally in private parking lots.

8. The curve in front of the hotel is a blind, elbow intersection, which is already dangerous for drivers and pedestrians, as is the intersection of George Adam Smith Street and Lehi Street. There are not adequate crosswalks except at Etzel Street. It is already dangerous for pedestrians to cross these streets and will be equally so for bicyclists.

9. The narrowing of the lanes will mean that cars have to cross each very closely, increasing the chances of collision, obstructing the traffic and distracting the drivers and their field of vision from pedestrians, especially children. This is already evident as shown by HaHaganah Street and Lohamei HaGeta’ot/Etzel, where work is underway.

10. The bike lane will subsume both parking spaces and the bus stop inlets. Busses will have to stop in the driving lane to pick up and drop off passengers, which will stop the entire flow of traffic. This is unsafe and unacceptable.

11. Due to the lack of parking, many visitors will have to park at a greater distance. Bearing in mind the safety issues mentioned above, and the fact that there will now be four lanes of traffic that pedestrians have to deal with, it will be much more dangerous for visitors, especially children and the elderly, to visit family and friends here.

12. The Small City neighborhood—a neighborhood of professionals with usually more than 1 car per family—was built with less than 1 parking space per unit. Already residents of the neighborhood struggle to find adequate parking. With the reduction of parking on Lehi Street, the situation will be intolerable, especially when having to compete with hotel and university visitors for parking spaces.

13. The sidewalks in this area are already quite broad. Why not narrow the sidewalks and create a bike lane there, if a bike lane is even necessary at all.

14. Additionally, bike lanes should be make along major routes, such as Haim Yisky Street as is done in other major cities, and not down narrow residential streets such as Lehi and Etzel. This straight, broad route would be safer for bicyclists than the winding busy Etzel/Lehi route with its blind intersections.

Petition - Cessation of bike lanes in French Hill

For those of you are concerned for the safety of the French Hill and Ramat Eshkol neighborhoods because of the bike lanes along the streets, there is an online petition against the project that you can sign. Just go to this website and fill out the details at the bottom of the page.

Presentation on the safety issues of the bike lane

Here is a presentation made by a resident of French Hill that shows quite clearly most of the traffic safety issues that the bike lanes cause in the French Hill and Ramat Eshkol area.

Introduction

Over the course of the past few months a company by the name of Moriah has been paving bike lanes in the French Hill and Ramat Eshkol neighborhoods on behalf of the Jerusalem municipality. The official intent of the project is to create an alternative transportation lane from the metro station planned to open in North Jerusalem to the Hebrew University and Hadassah Hospital on Mount Scopus.

Initially it seems like a nice idea, after all who could object to bike riding? However, last Sunday a meeting took place between representatives of the municipality and residents of the area at the French Hill community center (the invitation for which can be seen above). At this meeting the French Hill and Ramat Eshkol communities brought forth their strong and unified voice against the project as it's been implemented until now and as it is intended to be implemented. There was barely a single resident that supported it. Instead there was a series of well thought out and factual arguments directed at fundamental problems in the plan along side outbursts of anger and rage on the manner in which the project was forced upon the neighborhoods.

But what problems could be so fundamental so as to create such strong resistance amongst the residents of the area?

A. Safety – While initially the concept of a bike lane would seem to increase the safety of the bicyclists, pedestrians and motorists, due to the manner in which the project was planned and implemented, the exact opposite has happened. The bike lanes weave in and out of streets and sidewalks in a manner that is confusing and dangerous for the cyclists. In order to pave these bike paths space was taken from the roads narrowing the lanes of traffic in such a manner that two vehicles can barely pass each other without an accident. In addition to all of this, pedestrians will now have to look out for and navigate through four lanes of traffic simply to cross the street.

B. The nature of determination and execution of the project – The entire planning and implementation of the project was done in an entirely undemocratic manner without any census amongst the residents of the area. Only after entire sections of the project were completed was there and official meeting between representatives of the municipality and the residents at the community center. They did not even conduct a study amongst the local bicyclists if such a plan was desirable to them.

C. Faulty reasoning at the basis of the project – There is a very low probability that the plan will achieve its goal at all. People bicycling back and forth to the University and metro will either need to fill the train's cars with their bikes or leave them at the station. The latter option means that they are expected to buy a bicycle, a very expensive item in this country, exclusively for riding back and forth between the station and the University. At the same time, it is very naïve to think that the residence of the neighborhoods will suddenly decide to rush out and buy bicycles simply to make use of the new paths that until now have received a very bad reputation within the community.