2024-11-06 SK GP Testimony to LPC (Signed)

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Communication 2019-10 Waikoloa Subcommittee Report to the South Kohala Community Development Plan Action Committee June 18, 2019 REPORTOVERVIEW At the April 2018 meeting of the South Kohala Community Development Action Committee (SCKCP-AC), issues with traffic at the Waikoloa RoadfPaniolo Avenue Intersection were raised both in public testimony and as an AC agenda item. In the public testimony, David Tarnas updated the Action Committee with information from the March 13, 2018 South Kohala Traffic Safety Committee meeting. Hawai`i State DOT officials had announced that new weight Iimits were pending on the Waiaka Bridge. In response to the restriction, the Kawaihae trucking community reported they would have to drive through Waikoloa as a bypass route to and from the Harbor, significantly increasing traffic congestion in Waikoloa and slowing down traffic flow. Councilman Richards was present and had a new update that DOT would be modifying those limits, avoid immediate increases in truck traffic through Waikoloa. Although the imminent problem was averted, the AC's further discussion made it clear that the traffic flow in Waikoloa remained an issue that needed further investigation. AC members agreed to establish a Waikoloa Subcommittee. The Subcommittee was tasked to investigate and report back to the Action Committee on the reported issues with the intersection at Waikoloa Road and Paniolo Drive as well as the on-going concern with a single access road into and out of Waikoloa Village with ever-increasing traffic and especially in emergency situations. AC members Kevin McLaughlin, Julia Alos, and Ruth Smith volunteered to serve on the Waikoloa Subcommittee. These volunteers have been working regularly on this issue for over a year. The report is structured so that information on either issue is a free-standing document. Thus, information on population, growth, housing, and developments is found in both subsections so each document is comprehensive and can be read independently. Thank you for your interest in these issues and for your willingness to become informed. We welcome your help for the benefit of residents, visitors, and local commerce to remedy the infrastructure deficits affecting Waikoloa Village and South Kohala.