2008-01-11 THALEKII - Laserfiche WebLink

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when I met with them they impressed that point upon me quite frequently and passionately that, you know, for the past seven years they’ve expressed their concerns regarding opening up of the Bypass, not in this partial opening configuration but when the whole Bypass is opened. They have expressed these concerns; and they had the potential solutions, too, which was much appreciate. Mainly the Keauhou community in the big picture, I think, is concerned about increased traffic on Alii Drive; and with that it presents some concerns about safety, mainly as the residents that live along the condo units in that area and also there’s a golf course, how they enter and exit their driveways to get access to those properties. And also at Kaleiopapa to Keauhou Bay there were concerns about the traffic. They have trouble right now entering and exiting their driveways to that area. So introduction of more traffic by opening up the Bypass increases their concerns. Also there’s speeding on Alii Drive. That section of Alii Drive is probably the widest as far as the width of the right-of-way or the width of the, pardon me, the width of the developed right-of-way. So there’s a sense that you can drive faster and people do, so with that, again, making it more difficult to enter and exit their driveways. At some other driveways there’s limited sight distance. This is a combination of both the roadway, geometrics or alignment – there’s a slight curve at certain places – but also there’s vegetation from, that’s kind of overgrown, so that makes it difficult or provides limited sight distance. And their main thing was that they told me they were not opposed to the Bypass but they’re insisting that the adequate infrastructure be in place before the Bypass is opened. The Halekii community, when I met with them, their concerns are also about increased traffic; and their concerns are very valid, especially for the folks that live directly on Halekii Street. There are 17 houses on the north side and the south side, both. That’s the residential section. So what Mr. Hayashi said about 40 houses along Halekii is true. The way the lots are configured most of them have very short driveways. So you come home from work or whatever and you turn into your driveway, well, to get out of your driveway you need to back out. Some of the houses have a turn-around capability, but many of them don’t. So in order to leave their house, they have to back up into traffic; and in some cases depending on which way they’re going they have to cross one lane while backing out. Several of the houses have kind of a, even a more difficult time doing that because there’s a hill, and there’s a knoll. And combined with the third bullet down, speeding going up and down Halekii Street, the short driveways and backing out onto Halekii becomes a challenge. It may be a test of their driving skills. Anyway, another concern is the cars stacking up at the Halekii traffic signal at Halekii and Mamalahoa Highway. The signal has been optimized I think several times. With the possible opening of the Bypass we’d have to make some adjustments there also. But they’re worried about that. If more people are allowed to use the Bypass and drive up Halekii Street, then making a left turn or right turn at this traffic signal will become even more difficult as more cars tried to or will be stacked up along that steep slope in front of the Kealakekua Post Office. Speeding going up and down, at first when I went to visit I thought, oh, okay maybe it’s kind of steep so going down that’s what the community is worried about; but, in fact, motorists speed going up also through that neighborhood. So that’s a concern. They also expressed concern about the school bus that lets off the students or children just above Mamao Street intersection, and also concerns about noise from trucks using the compression brakes that are going down that steep slope. And then there were other concerns about no parking at the Kona Scenic Park. In trying to work out some ways to address their concerns, the Department came up with this set of measures. And, well, this is the Alii Drive. We’ve provided a little map for you folks, that’s this EXHIBIT A 11