It’s a sweet 16 for the Tel Aviv Rollers, the city’s loosely confederated group of rollerblading and roller-skating enthusiasts who take to the streets every Tuesday evening. The Rollers are composed of 150 sports and environmental enthusiasts who have gathered once a week for the past 16 years for a roll around Tel Aviv. When the Rollers take to the streets en masse, police close intersections and road lanes for their safe passage.
The skaters are on a mission to show city residents that transportation does not have to be gas-propelled. In the last few years, the municipality has renovated city streets to include some 43 miles of marked bike lanes.
But Rollers leader Alik Mintz wants more. “I have a vision to try and take care of pollution, well-being and climate-change problems,” says Mintz, a computer systems designer. “I have a vision that the Tel Aviv Rollers will show people that the roads are not just for cars.” — israel21c