Israel's News & Views BlogIn my opinion, there is one issue which dominates the municipal elections in Tel Aviv. That issue is transportation.
Tel Aviv is a city with not enough parking space on the one hand, and too much smog and pollution on the other hand. Car owners have to deal with endless parking tickets, as well as daily spins around the block, desperately searching for parking.
In addition, the public transportation in Tel Aviv is lacking any innate rationale, making it extremely confusing for out-of-town visitors. The prospect of a subway or a light rail, which had been brought up many times in previous election campaigns, remains silent this time — since everyone now acknowledge that such an ambitious project would take a decade or two to fulfill.
What’s the solution? Well, each party claims it knows best. Some go out against the parking tickets’ vendetta, while others suggest to puff up the bus fleet.
In the last couple of weeks, the issue of road accidents in Tel Aviv has made some grave deadlines, after two friends were ran over in the middle of the city by a drunk driver. Tel Aviv has the highest rate of urban road accidents in Israel.
Bottom line, for the first time I can remember, particularly everyone agree that the state of the transportation in Tel Aviv is a disaster and that things have to change. I believe that this is the biggest issue which is tilting the balance of power in this election season.
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