[RBS] BIG\Train Station Parking

[mendyn]

For those of you who take the train daily to Tel Aviv or Yerushalyim, we are sure you have noticed that the overflow parking lot in BIG has recently been closed to all cars.

We wanted to update you on the story behind this.

As everyone who visits BIG is aware, the traffic at the entrance to Bet Shemesh and around the circle to enter BIG, is atrocious. It can often take 10 minutes to get from 38 into BIG.
Bet Shemesh has a new traffic plan to redesign the entire entrance and alleviate this traffic issue.
Part of this plan, which will cost millions of shekel, requires the landowners in BIG, and the Eizor Tassiah, to contribute to this redevelopment. The owners of BIG signed a contract with the city in which it received the ability to build their new mall but contingent on them contributing to the traffic redevelopment plan. Their contribution is supposed to be approximately 2-3 million shekel.
Unfortunately, they have not lived up to their side of the deal and have not yet contributed the money.  Instead, they have been using the land allocated for the new mall to rent out space to Superbus and Eldan.
The city council felt it was time to force their hand and force them to close the entire lot until the redevelopment money is contributed. There was a very contentious meeting of the council a few weeks ago. The issue was, weighing the needed funds for the redevelopment against the inconvenience that would be caused to citizens by closing the lot. In the final vote, all the city council members voted to close the lot EXCEPT for Shmuel Greenberg (Gimmel), Eli Friedman (TOV), and Natan Sheetrit (Likud).

We all hope that the owners of BIG will acquiesce and live up to their signed contracts so that the city will reopen the lot and more importantly so that the redevelopment of the kikar can begin.

thank you
TOV Bet Shemesh