Cable car to the Western Wall planned
Jerusalem municipality plans a cable car to bypass endless traffic jams leading to holy site; trip will last five minutes. Cost: about USD 8 million
Hundreds of thousands of visitors to the Western Wall pray to heavens; soon they will also arrive there from above, as the Jerusalem Municipality is planning to build a cable car to bypass the heavy traffic jams and alleviate the trip to the holy site, Israel’s leading newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth reported on Wednesday.
Arriving to the Western Wall plaza, especially on holidays, is a long and nerve-wracking task. Visitors have to navigate the maze of narrow, bustling streets of east Jerusalem while the whole area becomes congested with heavy traffic jams. Then, the other nightmare starts: The search for parking.
To comprehend the numbers, last Succot holiday 700,000 people visited the site.
Arrival to the holy place is almost as difficult for people arriving by public transportation because of the long lines and the big crowds.
It is impossible to build new roads leading to the area because of the number of the unique holy sites around the walls of the Old City. After Passover the problem will get worse as vehicles' access to the area will be permitted to residents only.
Historic cable car
Jerusalem Municipality officials conjured an idea that the arrival to a heavenly place like the Western Wall, should be done also from up above – by cable car.
The plan is for the cable car to have its origin station near the old train station, where a big parking structure will serve the passengers. The cable car will make its route above Hinnom Valley for 1.2 kilometer (less than one mile) and arrive at the Dung Gate (Sha'ar Ha'ashpot) which is in close proximity to the Western Wall plaza.
The cable car will consist of two-to-four cars able to carry 70 passengers each. The trip would last five minutes and passengers can enjoy the comfortable trip and the magnificent view.
Jerusalem mayor Uri Lupolianski already approved a budget of five to eight USD million.
An official at the Jerusalem Municipality said that construction should take 18 months, and added that because the Western Wall is one of the most popular sites in Israel they had to come up with a non-conventional solution to the heavy traffic and the hundreds of thousands of visitors.
The cable car idea didn't come from the sky. The city leaders adopted the idea from the historic cable car which operated during the War of Independence to connect to Mount Zion, where soldiers took a stronghold, and deliver supplies.
