2003-09-11 tsoto911 - Laserfiche WebLink

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What we have here on the other side of the, the mauka side of the road, we have the Kona Hawaiian Village and the Kona Sea Ridge developments, both very large developments with driveways that have been put in. The driveway thatÓs for Kona Sea Ridge right now is actually being used for construction equipment. IÓm not sure if thatÓs going to become a permanent driveway for their latest phase or not, but we do have a lot of large cranes and trucks going in and out of there; and itÓs almost directly across from the Sea Village entrance. If youÓll notice, if you go up the road a little bit, about 35 feet, youÓll come to the next driveway, which is currently used by Mr. Kniss for access to his property and would be used by the proposed several developments as well. Continuing down the road, we have the Kona Tiki Hotel. They have a separate driveway for their unit which is on the other side of the bridge. This area, just to kind of further complicate matters, is a 30-mile per hour speed area. ItÓs, weÓre lucky if people do that in this area. We have no turning lanes on this area. If you go down the road apiece, down at Casa De Emdeko, very nicely big, wide driveways. We do not have that here. This is a two-lane road with lots of traffic, and some other problems weÓll discuss later. This is a popular surfing spot right here. I think itÓs called TikiÓs or, thatÓs in Kahului Bay, and thereÓs a lot of young people, which is kind of a beginner surferÓs spot. We have kids on bikes with surfboards on the back, a lot of teenage drivers, thatÓs kind of dangerous. We also have driveways that are very close together and we have a lot of private drives in between them as well and a lot of fast-moving traffic. ThereÓs also a bridge down there which the pedestrian lane narrows when you get to the bridge. So we have pedestrians that are very close to the traffic at that point, and there has been several accidents down there which weÓll discuss later. Basically, our issue here or one of the main issues, at least my main issue as an engineer, is safety. And IÓm not the only one who has mentioned this. ThereÓs a letter from the Department of Public Works, Mr. Galen Kuba, there are letters from the Kona Traffic Safety Committee, all addressing the fact that there are concerns about the driveway that will be used for this unit and the size of the development that it. Like I mentioned before, the Sun Terra Office has been grandfathered in. ItÓs probably too close to the road. If it had to be built over again today, it probably wouldnÓt be built that way. Unfortunately, I guess fortunately for them, maybe, they just remodeled it; and, so itÓs brand spanking new and it will be used for quite awhile, I would assume. This building causes a limited line of sight, and weÓll look at some photos later, when you come out of the driveway or if youÓre a pedestrian or cyclist using the lane on that side of the road. A wider driveway has been recommended by the Department of Public Works. 7