TRAIN TO THE WESTERN WALL
Danny Adino Ababa
Ynetnews
Israel News
08.12.08, 12:17
Israel
Jerusalem Municipality holds secret meeting in which plans are unveiled
for extension of city’s light train to Dung Gate, just minute’s walk
from holy site; tunnel through Mt. Zion also proposed
Jerusalem’s new light train may reach the Western Wall, according to
a meeting held by the capital’s municipality, in the civil engineer’s
office. The meeting, which took place on June 25, was kept under
wraps for fear that its subject would enrage representatives of the
three faiths in the city.
Jerusalem’s leaders fear that the close proximity of the train’s path
to the Old City and the cemetery nearby may destabilize the delicate
balance between the religions, and invoke a protest fueled by local
aggravation.
The proposal for the train’s new path was offered as a solution to the
Old City’s chronic traffic congestion, specifically near the Western
Wall. Jerusalem Municipality’s transportation department prepared a
plan for the limitation of traffic within the Old City, in addition
to a plan for the improvement of public transport in the area.
However it didn’t take long to rule out all options other than the
train, which would circle the city’s walls until reaching the Dung
Gate, which is just one minute’s walk from the Western Wall. Architects
have planned for the train to pass through Mt. Zion, and an underground
tunnel has been planned for this purpose.
Construction on the new plan, which is to extend the route of the
already approved tracks, may last two to three years, and some of the
residents living close to the route may have to evacuate the area in
return for compensation.
The meeting was kept secret, but participants planned to announce
its conclusions before the media once the plans had been completed
and approved, in a press conference with the participation of
representatives of the Old City’s four quarters – Jewish, Muslim,
Christian, and Armenian.