The KKL-JNF is calling for a planned extension of Highway 443 to be canceled in order to prevent severe damage to the Ben Shemen forest. KKL-JNF is pressing for alternative technological solutions that will leave the most important Israeli ecological corridor unharmed.
Ben Shemen Forest is the most visited forest in Israel, handling greater demand than any other park in Israel, and serving many millions of visitors. The forest's importance is not merely local. The peak capacity of the park is about 115,000 visitors per day. Most of the visitors' activity is concentrated near Route 443, both on peak days and on ordinary days. In addition, the Ben Shemen Forest has over 5 million visitors a year, including hikers, cyclists and others.
KKL-JNF wants the question of road segments analyzed in terms of the scenic surroundings, including consideration of a viaduct (elevated road) or a tunnel. Various countries have found technological solutions that reduce the impact of infrastructures on the environment. Japan, Germany and Switzerland have created elevated roads and railways that leave forests and open spaces unharmed.
It should be noted that if the road is detoured into a tunnel or onto a bridge, precious forest areas may be preserved for the public, who may walk, hike, and cycle in an open space that is not a paved interchange.
Anat Gold, KKL-JNF's Director of the Central Region, says: "We are urging that the planned extension of Route 443, which would harm the Ben Shemen Forest forever, be stopped.
"I call on the planners to find creative solutions that are not only harmless but beneficial to the forest, the public, and the ecosystem. As seen today and projected over the next 20 years, this is a forest in use by all the residents of central Israel. It meets the need for leisure and recreation in the great outdoors, and KKL-JNF envisions it as a metropolitan park that will be connected in the future, through Ariel Sharon Park, to the Yarkon Park. There is enormous importance to designing the road as a scenic passageway, embodying values that are at the heart of the National Ecological Corridor."
Photo: Bella Nodelman, KKL-JNF photo archive