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Ofnidan
Ofnidan logo
LocationGush Dan, Israel
ProposerMinistry of Transportation
StatusUnder construction, partially opened
TypeCycling infrastructure

Ofnidan (Hebrew: אופנידן), or the Greater Tel Aviv Cycle Network, and sometimes transliterated from Hebrew as Ofneidan, is a infrastructure project under construction to establish a network of long-distance bike paths in the Gush Dan, Israel's largest conurbation and metropolitan area. The network will to connect residential areas and employment centers and reduce the use of motorised private transport and the resulting congestion and pollution. The project was first announced in 2015[1] and the plan originally included more than 145km of segregated bike paths.[2]

Routes

The network consists of seven routes.

Routes of the Ofnidan Cycle Network
Route Colour code Length Areas served
Ayalon Route Yellow 14 km Begins at the College of Management in Rishon LeZion and ends at Ben-Zvi Road in Tel Aviv, connecting the cities of Rishon LeZion, Holon, Bat Yam and Tel Aviv. Important locations along the route include the College of Management, Moshe Dayan railway station, the Golden Mall in Rishon LeZion, Bat Yam–Komemiyut and Bat Yam–Yoseftal railway stations, the Bat Yam and Holon Malls, the Holon–Wolfson railway station and Wolfson Medical Center.
Yarkon Route Pink 19 km Begins at the Rosh HaAyin North railway station and ends at the Savidor railway station, connecting the cities of Rosh HaAyin, Petah Tikva, Bnei Brak, Ramat Gan and Tel Aviv. Important landmarks on the route include Park Afek in Rosh HaAyin, Savidor Central Railway Station in Tel Aviv, HaMoshava Stadium in Petah Tikva, Ayalon Mall in Ramat Gan, the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange and Shenkar College of Engineering and Design.
Coastal Route Green 14 km Begins at Reichman University and ends at the Savidor railway station, connecting the cities of Herzliya, Ramat HaSharon and Tel Aviv. Important landmarks on the route include Herzliya railway station, Seven Stars Mall, Glilot, Levinsky College, Kibbutzim College of Education, Technology and the Arts, Tel Aviv University and the Tel Aviv Museum.
Holot Route Purple 7 km Connects Rishon LeZion, Holon and Tel Aviv. The route starts at the Golden Mall in Rishon LeZion and reaches Ben Zvi Road in Tel Aviv. Important landmarks on the route include the Holon Institute of Technology, Design Museum Holon, Meditech Holon, Park HaHorshot and the Tel Aviv-Jaffa Academic College.
Ariel Sharon Park Route Red 14 km Begins in the Nahalat Yehuda neighborhood of Rishon Lezion and reaches Derech HaShalom in Tel Aviv. It connects Rishon LeZion, Holon, Azor, Ariel Sharon Park, Ramat Gan and Tel Aviv.
Field Route Blue 14 km Connects Petach Tikva, Giv'at Shmuel, Kiryat Ono, Ramat Gan and Tel Aviv-Jaffa. The route begins at the interchange Amishav-Highway 471 and reaches the bridge Judith Yitzhak Sadeh Street in Tel Aviv-Jaffa. Among the important landmarks on the route are Bar-Ilan University and Yehudit Bridge.
Sharon Route Orange 16 km Connects the Herzliya, Ramat HaSharon, Yarkon Park and Tel Aviv. The route begins at the intersection of Ra'anana Herzliya east, Highway 531 and reaches the Savidor railway station in Tel Aviv. Among the important landmarks on the route are the HaKfar HaYarok, Afeka College of Engineering, and Yarkon Park.

Specifications

The Field Route crosses Yehudit Bridge in Tel Aviv-Jaffa

The planned bike paths will be at least three meters wide, with bridges facilitating rapid and safe crossing of high-speed roads, where necessary. There will also be resting places, water fountains, maps, and appropriate signage.[3]

Controversy

In March 2021, Ynet reported that just six months after an opening ceremony by the Minister for Transport, a section of the bikeway between the Moshe Dayan and Komemiyot highway interchanges was ripped up and closed to commuters with fences. The Ministry of Transportation claimed a detour was paved, but a visit to the site showed no such detour nor any signage indicating a detour, according to the report.[4]

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Greater Tel Aviv Cycle Network.

References

  1. ^ Roi Rubinstein (24 January 2019). "הבטחות ודחיות: אוטוסטרדת האופניים של כץ מתעכבת" [Promises and rejections: Katz's highway is delayed]. Ynet (in Hebrew). Retrieved 27 March 2021.
  2. ^ Renate van der Zee (27 January 2016). "The transformation of Tel Aviv: how cycling got cool in Israel's hippest city". The Guardian. Retrieved 28 March 2021.
  3. ^ Hedy Cohen (12 July 2015). "Cycle path network planned for Greater Tel Aviv". Globes. Retrieved 28 March 2021.
  4. ^ Udi Etzion (23 March 2021). "שרת התחבורה מירי רגב מציגה: נחנוך שביל אופניים, ואז נהרוס" [Transport Minister Miri Regev presents: We will inaugurate a bicycle path, then it will be destroyed]. Ynet (in Hebrew). Retrieved 27 March 2021.
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