The Traffic Division and the Ministry of Transportation have completed their preparations for the Rashbi celebration in Meron: the roads leading to Meron will be closed to traffic tomorrow morning, starting at 8:30.
Starting at 7:00 AM, phase two of Operation Meron will begin - and the police will be fully deployed.
Below are the updated traffic arrangements for arriving in Meron:
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Arrival in Meron will be made exclusively by buses/minibuses.
Private vehicles will not be allowed to reach Moshav Meron. The recommendation is to arrive by public transportation or private buses only.
Those who decide to arrive by private car will be able to park in the parking lots: Tzivon, Karmiel, and Hatzor. There they will be able to board public transportation that will take them to the mountain - but for a fee.
Definition of transportation:
Regulated companies are those that have a regulated operating franchise. Unregulated companies are private companies and also minibuses.
The color scheme in parking lots:
This year, a rethink was carried out and lessons learned from previous years were drawn, which resulted in improvements and innovations regarding the convenience and safety of the celebrating public. In order to make it easier for those arriving in Meron to find their way around transportation issues, the color system will be implemented for the first time.
This is a three-color division, which will help accurately guide the thousands of people who will arrive by public transportation to the issue. For this purpose, three colors were chosen, red, yellow, and blue, with each color marking a territorial area and transportation.
The innovation: marking the terminals and the pedestrian paths leading to them in different colors, in a manner that matches the color of the travel ticket, in order to make it easier for partygoers to arrive at and leave the site.
The two parking lots opposite Meron will be marked as follows:
• Yellow for buses arriving in remote communities – including the travel ticket, which will be yellow.
• Blue will mark the buses and parking lot for trips from nearby communities. Blue card.
• Red will symbolize the arrival of the shuttles, both for drop-off and pick-up. Red card.
Arrival where?
All buses and shuttles will arrive with passengers at the traffic circle at the entrance to Meron, where passengers will get off. .
The companies that are not regulated will first arrive at remote parking lots (Ein Hozim and Frod) – red.
As mentioned: All passengers from both parking lots will be transported via shuttles from the parking lots to the drop-off point at the traffic circle at the entrance to Meron.
Return from Miron:
Passengers with yellow and blue tickets will walk to the parking lots marked in that color. Holders of red tickets who got off at the Meron entrance will board the buses at the same location that will take them back to the remote parking lots.
Road closures:
The roads listed above will be closed to traffic starting Wednesday, May 6, 2015 from 7:00 AM until Friday, May 8, 2015 at 7:00 AM:
• Highway 866 – from the Hananya intersection towards Meron.
• Highway 89 – from Hiram Junction to Elifelet Interchange, in both directions.
• Highway 886 – from Rahaniyeh Junction to Ein Hozim Square.
• Highway 8900 – from the Biriye intersection to Ein Hozim Square.
• Exit from Safed to Route 89.
• Entry or exit from Safed will be possible via Highway 8900, from the direction of Rosh Pina only.
In addition, road users should take into account that, as necessary, during the days of celebration, with an emphasis on Wednesday, there is a possibility of blocking additional intercity routes:
• Highway 65 – from Golani towards Kadrim.
• Highway 85 – from Rama Junction to Amiad Junction, in both directions.
The immediate blockages will be near Meron, and as the time gets closer to the lighting date, the blockages will move away towards the Golani Junction and other junctions.
For users of the WAZE navigation software - the software is expected to be updated with road closures.
And what will VIPs and disabled people do?
• VIPs who have received regular permission from the Israel Police will arrive by prior arrangement at Junction Six (Hanania). There they will join an escort force that will bring them to the mountain.
• Disabled people, with a disability certificate, who are limited to walking only.
• Disabled people, with a disability certificate, who are limited to walking only, will arrive at the "Frod" parking lot via the Sheva intersection, where they will board the "Ezer M'Zion" shuttle to the grave site or, alternatively, to the Ein Hozim parking lot via the Elifelet interchange.
It is important to note that arriving by bus is ten times safer than traveling by private vehicle, the drivers are guided and supervised by the companies' safety officers. In addition, the National Traffic Police will conduct surprise inspections of the fitness of the public vehicles and the drivers in order to prevent any concern about the risk to passengers.
Refreshment stations and instructions:
• For passengers on public transportation, refreshment stations have been arranged on Route 6 "Alonit", on Route 722, the Guards Junction, and Route 90, the Bezeq checkpoint.
• The Israel Police is prepared with large forces of the National Traffic Police to prevent blocking traffic routes and disrupting the proper flow of the routes to Meron. The police will set up roadblocks to prevent the arrival of private vehicles, so there is no point in trying to outsmart and bypass the blockages since there will be police checkpoints both on the paved roads and on the dirt roads leading to Meron.
• Private vehicles will not be allowed to park on the sides of the road. Vehicles parked in an unregulated manner will be towed.
• The driving public is asked to be patient and obey the police officers' instructions and guidelines. In light of the changes in traffic arrangements, drivers should pay attention to directional signs and signage on the sides of the road.
• At the end of the celebration, when leaving the site, one should turn to the pedestrian route that matches its color, lighting, and flags, and the travel ticket.
• At all stages during the festivities, pedestrians are strictly prohibited from walking on the routes where vehicles leading to the site are moving, for fear of putting their lives at risk.
