May 1, 2013
Sign protests against plans for RBS D2 this Friday!
In the past few days the following notices have been put up around Bet Shemesh (and RBS) (click image to enlarge):
It is a statement of the plans for planning of the new neighborhood of RBS D2 and an announcement of the legal period of time for filing objections.
If you look around Bet Shemesh and RBS, you can see clearly that City Hall has a very difficult time administering the city at acceptable levels with the current level of population. The streets are dirty. The roads are filled with potholes. More and more schools are cropping up in caravans and temporary structures rather than in school buildings, Tipat Chalav had to fire their secretary due to city cutbacks and it is now difficult to get appointments for your childs vaccinations and well-care, etc..
There are a lot of reasons one can oppose the new neighborhoods plans. I am not an expert in many of the issues involved, such as population density, type of construction, adequate business areas being designated, road design, green areas, parks, school buildings, etc. though they are all important issues and there are people dealing with them specifically. In my mind, as stated above, just look around.
The one thing the Iryah of Bet Shemesh has done well in recent years is pass the planning of new neighborhoods and build. In my opinion, the reason to oppose the new neighborhoods is on a temporary basis alone. The Iryah has moved so fast, there is no way it will be able to keep up with the demands of services required, neither for the new residents of said neighborhoods nor for the old residents of Bet Shemesh.
Just look around and see that the city has already not been able to keep up with basic needs of services of its residents. Slow down, catch up, improve city infrastructure, makes city services more efficient, get the budgets on track with the needs of the city, and then worry about new neighborhoods in 6 months or next year or however long it takes. It will be nice to have 15-000-20,000 new neighbors, but the city should first catch up with its current obligations.
There are people arranging forms for filing protests. Someone should be outside of Best Market on Dolev, as well as in other areas around Bet Shemesh, this Friday, and at other times, with forms for signatures. If you agree, if any of the issues make you concerned with the growth unmatched by the ability to render services, make sure you find a few minutes and sign the form.
It is a statement of the plans for planning of the new neighborhood of RBS D2 and an announcement of the legal period of time for filing objections.
If you look around Bet Shemesh and RBS, you can see clearly that City Hall has a very difficult time administering the city at acceptable levels with the current level of population. The streets are dirty. The roads are filled with potholes. More and more schools are cropping up in caravans and temporary structures rather than in school buildings, Tipat Chalav had to fire their secretary due to city cutbacks and it is now difficult to get appointments for your childs vaccinations and well-care, etc..
There are a lot of reasons one can oppose the new neighborhoods plans. I am not an expert in many of the issues involved, such as population density, type of construction, adequate business areas being designated, road design, green areas, parks, school buildings, etc. though they are all important issues and there are people dealing with them specifically. In my mind, as stated above, just look around.
The one thing the Iryah of Bet Shemesh has done well in recent years is pass the planning of new neighborhoods and build. In my opinion, the reason to oppose the new neighborhoods is on a temporary basis alone. The Iryah has moved so fast, there is no way it will be able to keep up with the demands of services required, neither for the new residents of said neighborhoods nor for the old residents of Bet Shemesh.
Just look around and see that the city has already not been able to keep up with basic needs of services of its residents. Slow down, catch up, improve city infrastructure, makes city services more efficient, get the budgets on track with the needs of the city, and then worry about new neighborhoods in 6 months or next year or however long it takes. It will be nice to have 15-000-20,000 new neighbors, but the city should first catch up with its current obligations.
There are people arranging forms for filing protests. Someone should be outside of Best Market on Dolev, as well as in other areas around Bet Shemesh, this Friday, and at other times, with forms for signatures. If you agree, if any of the issues make you concerned with the growth unmatched by the ability to render services, make sure you find a few minutes and sign the form.
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the signatures, protests, comittees...they have all been tried before, and failed.
ReplyDeletesad, but true
it depends what you mean by "failed".
ReplyDeletePersonally, I think these protests will not derail the plans, but will delay them. It will force some better planning, and it will require some more time before moving ahead. That is all I think it needs anyway.
regarding the previous failures, it depends what the expectations were. Yes, plans were approved, but many changes had to be implemented in order for the plans to be approved. The changes were for the benefit of the city and specifically for whomever it will be that will eventually live in those neighborhoods.
for example, here is a partial list of some of the victories that were had because of past signature protests:
Some of the victories include:
+ Thousands of building permits won't be allowed until the road
infrastructure catches up
+ Thousands more occupancy permits won't be released until certain
major arteries have been approved/built
+ More green areas
+ High elevation points kept clean of building
+ Recommendations to the Iriya to allocate more buildings for "Public
Use" (weak, yeah, but still)
+ Strongly worded suggestions to add more commercial areas (and guess
what - the Ma'ar is starting to move!)
+ More shuls and Mikvaot
+ Emphasis to build parks and open spaces at the *same* time as the residences.
+ No building height increases or unit increases allowed in certain areas.
+ Certain areas will be required to have service roads built, so that
current roads aren't unduly obstructed