From Traffic Jams to a Pedestrian Paradise: Lewinsky Spice Market Placemaking

1.??????Introduction

There are changes in space that their execution is simple, however, they require more complex shifts in perception. We need to get the "magic square" of: vision, optimism, determination, and patience in order for them to succeed.

The change that occurred in Lewinsky Spice Market, Tel Aviv, Israel demonstrates that well. It’s a great story, of a street with rich history, that after years of decline, started to revive, struggling with narrow sidewalks that couldn't accommodate the growing number of visitors, alongside an endless traffic jam with extremely loud car horns.

Around 2010, I was a resident of Tel Aviv's Florentine neighborhood, and I came to an understanding that if a dramatic placemaking move in New York Time Square is a success, we should definitely give it a try in my beloved Lewinsky Street-Market. I started working towards that goal, together with the Merchants' Committee of the Street, and Tel-Aviv’s City Council, of which I was a member at the time.

In 2013, the city council approved my plan, but it took a long 6 years until it was finally implemented, around the end of 2019.

This article will describe the long, bumpy road for the realization of a small idea, that contributes so much to the lives of people in that area, including the consequences of Covid-19.

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2.??????A brief history of Lewinsky's Spice Market

Lewinsky is the leading spice market in Israel. The market was opened in the 1930s by Jewish merchants from Thessaloniki, Greece, who sold spices and dishes originating in the Balkans. In the 1950s, they were joined by Jewish merchants from Iran, who added flavors and aromas from Persian cuisine to the market.

Over time, the area declined and the market's stock fell. The beautiful buildings and the infrastructure were neglected.

Around 2010, with the long re-awakening of the Florentine neighborhood, the market began to flourish again. In recent years, Lewinsky Market is one of the most colorful places in Tel Aviv. Cheese and sausage delicacies, spice and dried fruit shops, alongside restaurants specializing in Mediterranean cuisine, give it a unique character.

Lewinsky is not a typical market, businesses operate in buildings along Lewinsky Street, and its surroundings and not in stalls. The target audience includes chefs and culinary enthusiasts.

With rising number of visitors, traffic congestion on the narrow road increased dramatically, pedestrians could barely get between the parked cars and the shops, and the traffic was accompanied by incessant honks.

It got to a point where walking in the colorful and bustling market became unbearable, and the space became dangerous: the narrow sidewalk was often blocked by merchants unloading goods in the middle of the street, and the road had a constant traffic jam. The pedestrians were yet again pushed to the margins and struggled their way on the narrow sidewalks.

And this point in time, I realized a change must become in order for the market best serve it's visitors.

3.??????Grassroot Placemaking

The inspiration for the Lewinsky pedestrian street scheme is rooted in the concept of placemaking, according to which, with relatively easy and inexpensive changes, urban spaces can be made better for pedestrians- residents as well as visitors.

The space transformation model we had in mind for Lewinsky was the New York Times Square that turned from a busy and shaky intersection into a pedestrian space.

The Merchants' Committee has led the initiative and met with professionals in the municipality. I spent many hours walking from store to store with the representers of the Merchants' Committee talking to the merchants on the main street and surrounding in order to convince them of the benefits of the pedestrian scheme.

At first, some expressed concerns about problems arising from the limited access cars would have - to customers, suppliers, and their own. However, many of them understood that benefits will outweigh the disadvantages.

Yomi Levy, one of the Merchants' Committee leaders, said in a 2012 to Haaretz newspaper: "In my imagination, I take out chairs here on Friday and serve plates of cheeses that I make", pointing to the narrow, cracked sidewalk.

The decision I proposed on the city council was to open the Lewinsky market as a pedestrian's street on Friday, as in Israel the weekend days are Friday and Saturday (and not Saturday and Sunday as in many countries).

A success on Fridays, I believed, would lead the way to a tactical pedestrian's street all week long, and eventually to the opening of more pedestrian's street throughout the city. In other words, it is the first step in a wider vision of turning the city's mobility pyramid, while putting the pedestrians on top.

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4.??????The Long Way from Proposal to Reality

In 2013, after a year-and-a-half process with the merchants and planning teams, the city council passed my proposal to turn Lewinsky market into a pedestrian street on Fridays, and as a result, close it to private vehicle traffic.

It’s implantation however, was a different opera and was significantly delayed.

Despite clear benefits for pedestrians, visitors, and merchants, the move was met with concerns about the changes it will bring. Some residents claimed that closing the street would infringe on their freedom of movement, and some business owners feared from reduction in customer's traffic. The municipality's planning team and some of the merchants raised concerns that the pedestrian's street scheme will accelerate existing gentrification trends and would cause a loss of the authentic character of the spice market.

In 2017, a public campaign led by neighborhood residents brought the subject back into public discussion, and the city presented a survey with few alternatives. Several meetings have been held with stakeholders during 2019. The market turned to a pedestrian street at the end of 2019. Not only on Fridays, but the entire week, and the city had placed street furniture throughout the street.

The Lewinsky pedestrian street project is a part of a larger transportation plan, which includes the construction of three metro lines and the promotion of several public-transport lanes throughout the city.

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5.??????Lewinsky Market These Days

Currently, the market operates as a pedestrian street and about 40 private car parking spots have been canceled, however vehicles continue to cross Lewinsky from north to south and vice versa through crossing streets.

The car's beeps that were the constant background music disappeared. There is an increase in the number of visitors, and businesses finding solutions for unloading and loading on nearby and crossing streets.

However, the Tel Aviv municipality canceled a section of a public transportation lane on adjacent Jaffa Road, in order to allow the neighborhood residents to leave with their private vehicle. Some would say it's a fair adjustment, while other may say that the city leadership is still afraid to turn the mobility pyramid.

A few months after the opening of the pedestrian street, the Covid-19 pandemic hit the world, and following few months of lockdown, open spaces such as the one Lewinsky could offer, were a treasures for cities around the world that tried to survive in the “new normal”. Businesses and restaurants with the possibility of outdoor seating, were striving and my 10 year old vision was alive and kicking.

The "magic square" of: vision, optimism, determination, and patience, was yet again much needed. Although it was a tactical move that hardly required infrastructure investment, it took years for the proper conditions to be in place for it to succeed.

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Resources:

Ilan Lior, May 4, 2012, Making a market on foot - Merchants of the Lewinsky Market in Tel Aviv are promoting an initiative to close it to car traffic on Fridays, https://www.haaretz.co.il/magazine/1.1699807

Naama Riba, December 16, 2019, Levinsky's closure is welcome, but it will not solve the chaos on the sidewalks of Tel Aviv, https://www.haaretz.co.il/gallery/opinion/1.8282848

Yulia Nikenkin, November 26, 2019, Lewinsky Market will be closed to vehicular traffic as part of a culinary venture and will become a pedestrian mall, https://www.haaretz.co.il/food/food-news/1.8185085

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