Pahia Road Crosswalk is a death trap.

Planning for a better Hawaii

Hosted by the Hawaii Bicycle League, community leaders met to discuss how we can make the Pahia Street Cross Walk on Kamehameha Hwy in Kaneohe safer. Hardly a day goes by that there is not a close call in this cross walk. Traffic commonly travels at 10-15 miles/hour over the speed limit and many drivers ignore pedestrians in the cross walk.

Particularly dangerous is when a driver stops in one lane and the driver in the next lane rushes through the crosswalk. When a pedestrian assumes a car will stop, tragedy results.

Community members, legislators and employees of Dept. of Health, Dept. of Transportation and others from County and State gathered to consider what can be done to make this crossing safer. I ideas ranged from better lighting and signage, to enforcement of cross walk regulations to better lighting and the holistic approach of redesigning Kamehameha Hwy to make it safe for cars, bikes and pedestrians.

Planned major maintenance of Kamehameha Hwy from Hygenic Store in Kahaluu to the Like Like Hwy provides us a unique opportunity to apply Complete Street Concepts to this main artery through Kaneohe to make it a safer and move community friendly road.

The Blue Zones Project follows through with a meeting on Thursday, May 26, to discuss the built environment of Kaneohe. Community leaders will be discussing how we can make Kaneohe a safer, more community oriented place to live. The meeting will be held at the Pohai Nani Good Samaritan Auditorium from 11am-1pm and again in the evening starting at 6:30 pm. The evening meeting is for more general public discussion. The lunch meeting will be focused on planning and picking one major demonstration project we can accomplish in the next few years.

If you want to share your ideas, come to either or both meetings. To impact the long term planning to create an even better Kaneohe, come the the lunch meeting where we will be doing in-depth planning.

Kaneohe Neighborhood Board Studies Road Issues

Roads and related topics generated plenty of attention during the Kaneohe Neighborhood Board’s October meeting. Here are highlights:

Kahekili Highway:  Board members Mahealani Cypher and Dennis Sanada will study a proposal to widen the Kahekili Highway north of Haiku Road. Traffic congestion is a longstanding problem on that stretch of highway. Ms. Cypher said widening the highway to carry more traffic might be in conflict with the Koolaupoko Sustainable Communities Plan, which seeks to limit development along the Windward Coast past Kaneohe. A city representative said plans for the road remain under review. The representative said one option is to use a contraflow approach, in which one lane carries traffic in different directions depending on the time of day. The contraflow lane would run from Haiku Road to Hui Iwa Street at Valley of the Temples Memorial Park.

Pahia Road Crosswalk: The Board learned that the city has hired a consultant to design pedestrian-crossing signals for the crosswalk at Pahia Road on Kamehameha Highway. The crosswalk has been the site of four pedestrian deaths in recent years. The city is using federal funds to improve this crosswalk and six others, at an estimated cost of $300,000 to $350,000. Construction is expected to occur in 2017. Board member Deborah Collins urged that the Pahia Road crosswalk be the first of the projects completed.

Bus Stop Removal: The Board took no action on a homeowner’s request for the Board to recommend removing a bus stop in front of 45-329 Mealele Street. However, Board Chairman Mo Radke said the Board can discuss the topic at its November 3 planning meeting. The homeowner said she no longer allows her young children to play in the front yard because strangers sit on her front wall while waiting for the bus. She also said the bus stop prevents her guests from parking in the grassy area in front of the wall. She said removing the stop would not inconvenience riders because there are two others a short distance away.

Cut-Through Streets: The Board learned that the city is looking at ways to reduce the impact of cars cutting through neighborhoods to get from the Likelike Highway to the Kamehameha Highway. A resident said a high volume of cars using Anoi Road and Luluku Road causes traffic backups at lights on the two highways.

What's Next: Next up for the Board will be its monthly planning meeting, Tuesday, November 3, at 7 p.m. at the Kaneohe Community and Senior Center, 45-613 Puohala Street. The Board will hold its next regular meeting on Thursday, November 19, at 7 p.m. in the cafeteria of Benjamin Parker Elementary School, 45-259 Waikalua Road, Kaneohe.