Warning: Traffic Ahead

Traffic filled the Jerusalem streets last week.

First, there were major international conferences 

"photo limousine", "image limo", "picture limousine"

with motorcades and official limousines and sirens.

 Vladimir Putin was in Jerusalem for only one day,

but he caused a traffic mess of presidential proportions.

"photo Russian flag", "image welcome sign", "picture Russia flag'

The Russian flags welcoming him to Jerusalem were still flying after he left.

 Schools held countless end-of-year performances for families,

making driving unpredictable and parking sometimes impossible.

The usual was bad enough, but wait–it got worse.

"picture Jerusalem", 'Photo Jerusalem", Image Jerusalem"

The Promenades of the Tayelet are perfect for views  

"picture Jerusalem", "image Jerusalem", "photo Al Quds

of the Old City Walls.

In May,

"photo fire" "image fire Jerusalem", "picture smoke"

 smoke could be seen from several fires below the Tayelet,

"picture smoke". "photo Jerusalem", "image Silwan"

 but they did not spread.

Recently, however, there have been multiple fires in the area.

 Last week the main Route #1 into Jerusalem was shut down 

while firefighters worked to put out fires and

thousands of people were stuck in traffic for hours.

"picture wild fire", "photo smoke", Image fire"

There have also been less serious fires that do not make the news.

Traffic came to a stop for one such fire near Kiryat Gat, 

"plane photo", "image plane", "picture plane"

while planes circled above. 

We were able to turn around and take another route back to Jerusalem,

so I do not know how long it took to re-open the road.

The funeral for former Prime Minister Shamir is later today,

 and it could be a traffic disaster of Prime Ministerial proportions.

Major construction on Route #1 is scheduled to start soon,

so we are in for years of serious traffic nightmares.

Bad traffic situations ahead seem to be a certainty,

Photo cigerette","

but surely we can put an end to some of the dangerous fires.


Jerusalem: Green Light Don’t Go

The Jerusalem streets can be very dangerous.

truck on sidewalk

Many are too narrow for modern vehicles

and sidewalks are often blocked

illegal parked car

forcing people to walk in the street in traffic.

 The traffic lights in the center of town often come in pairs,

traffic lights

   many times the closer light can be red, while the further one is green.

Those unfamiliar with this system often unwittingly step in the cross walk

 in front of oncoming traffic.

cross walk

While some intersections are extremely complicated,

blocked traffic light

the corner of Shalom Aleichem and Keren Hayesod Streets

is especially dangerous.

street crossing in Jerusalem

 The red light visible from most angles

blocked red traffic light

is really green.

 Much more dangerous though,

Jerusalem street

the green light is really red.

big street advertisement

While this traffic light was always hard to see behind the street sign,

 now the large advertising sign blocks the line of vision,

green light

making it almost impossible to see the traffic light.

street corner in Jerusalem

Thousands of visitors walk from Gan Hapa’amon, Liberty Bell Park area

on Keren Hayesod Street towards town,

this is a tragedy waiting to happen.

Many tourists eager to get into town look across the street,

see a green light and continue walking.

This recent sign says it all:

road safety sign

“Be Careful on the Roads-It’s a Matter of Life”

ambulance

and hopefully, not death… or injury.