The Jerusalem Municipality is planning to build a four-lane road in place of the old train tracks no longer in use, according to a spokesperson for the city.
To view the dilapidation of a historic site first-hand, you need only visit the Jerusalem train station in the German Colony.
Photo: Reuven Rosenfelder
Road 34 will run from near the Khan Theater area at the start of the tracks and will extend to Emek Refaim Street. The municipality is seeking funding for the project, which is part of the Jerusalem Building Program, a larger initiative currently underway.
The road, according to the spokesperson, will ease traffic around the Emek Refaim area.
The tracks, which have not been in use for several years and are now littered with trash, were built by the Ottomans and upgraded during the British Mandate.
Due to the tracks' historical significance, the municipality has met with residents of Katamon and Malha, as well as neighborhood officials.
"After confirmation of the [building] plan and acquisition of a financial source, summary and consensus with residents of the neighborhood and its management, we will begin to execute the plan," said the spokesperson.
Despite the municipality's efforts to stem protest, the spokesperson said controversy is inevitable at any construction site in Jerusalem.
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