Sharing of rights of way (ROW) has been advanced as a measure for mitigating the fragmentation impacts of infrastructure corridors and reducing the overall effect of such corridors on open space. This paper investigates where, when and under what circumstances have ROW been actually shared in Israel. It is hypothesized that the value of land saved has a positive effect on the extent of sharing, while infrastructure and transaction costs discourage such sharing. As only land values vary systematically over space and time, it can be expected that ROW would be shared mainly in core areas, and that the extent of such sharing will increase over time. Transaction costs, and hence the actual extent of sharing are affected by inter-agency power relations. It is suggested that in Israel the forces promoting the sharing of ROW are gaining power relative to the infrastructure provision agencies. To investigate these hypotheses all cases where ROW could be shared in inter-urban settings, without reducing level of service, were mapped vis-a-vis the cases where they were actually shared. This analysis shows that ROW are shared only to a limited extent, mainly within core areas. To investigate the impediments to sharing ten case studies were conducted. The lag between the time infrastructure is planned and the time it is built was identified as an important impediment, as were current planning procedures. Privatization may further raise transaction costs and hence deter sharing of ROW. Overall, the contribution of the sharing of ROW to open space preservation is likely to be limited, primarily due to transaction costs, and hence additional measures are needed. (Author/publisher).
Abstract