The District Appeals Planning Board has accepted the petition filed by area residents, canceling the planned Eini parking lot, an underground parking lot planned for the Machane Yehuda Shuk in Yerushalayim, scoring a victory for shuk merchants and area residents alike.

The Municipal Appeals Committee decided to disqualify the plan for the construction of an underground parking lot in Machane Yehuda. A joint objection by residents, merchants in the shuk, the Lev Ha’ir Community Center and the Movement for the Quality of Government warned against serious damage to the market space and movement on Aggripas Street.

Opponents explained, there is no justification for approving the plan in the face of the failures that occurred in the absence of planning logic, which was approved by an application that does not provide a response to the main need for the project and the transportation difficulties arising from the opinion of the expert on behalf of the appeals committee. The city was ordered to pay legal expenses incurred by the appellants.

Appellants state that despite the feasibility of the plan, the city has spent millions of shekels of public funds preparing an illogical plan, resulting in widespread opposition, simply stating, huge sums of taxpayer funds were wasted.

Various civil organizations, professionals and public representatives from all over the political spectrum shared the position of the opponents, that it was clearly an inappropriate plan that would have created negative consequences for the entire area and cause unnecessary waste of public funds.

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)