2012-11-15 Leeward Exh E - DPW Laaloa

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BOWMAN: Okay, thank you. GIFFIN: Will the applicant please come forward? Okay, Brandon, are you all by yourself? GONZALEZ: Good afternoon. I do have other people with me. I can identify them for you, Chair Giffin. GIFFIN: Good. Good, but could you please raise your right hand? GONZALEZ: Absolutely. GIFFIN: Thank you. Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth on this matter now before the Leeward Hawai‘i County Planning Commission? GONZALEZ: I do. GIFFIN: Thank you, Brandon. GONZALEZ: My name is Brandon Gonzalez, Deputy Director, Department of Public Works. Within the audience I notice some public testifiers from the previous meeting, also my boss, Mr. Warren Lee, Director of Public Works. Behind me to my right is Ryan Kanaka‘ole, Deputy Corporation Counsel; he may have some housekeeping matters later to address. And behind me to my left is Keone, Alan Keone Thompson; he’s the civil engineer, County engineer that has been working on this project. GIFFIN: Thank you. GONZALEZ: Commissioner Bowman, would you like to pose your question to me now, the same question, the slope? At its most, my understanding is it’s 14 percent. BOWMAN: Fourteen, okay, thank you. GONZALEZ: Okay, so I apologize for not getting items to you ten days prior. There were discussions going up until yesterday. I will go through a brief presentation; a lot of it has already covered by Mr. Arai. This is a proposed project for La‘aloa Avenue extension. Our application before you focuses on this northern portion, or this mauka portion here, 1,900 feet where we propose to finally punch the road through and connect it to Kuakini Highway. Phase 2 would encompass this lower portion near Ali‘i Drive intersection. Our application pending before you focuses on constructing 1,900 lineal feet of a two-lane roadway. Per stage requirements, there will be an installation of a signalized intersection here on Kuakini Highway. Along Kuakini Highway we will be doing approximately 1,500 lineal feet of roadway improvements as well for acceleration and deceleration lanes – I have a slide on that a little bit later. To accomplish this has been work in progress for a few years, to be nice, and we recently had to acquire acquisition for road right-of- way. Why are we building the road? In a nutshell it’s to benefit the public, and improve quality of life and public safety; to summarize we are going to be improving emergency evacuation options for people on the coastline. It was said that within the 3.5 miles there are only two roadways going makai to mauka, so this will provide a need in the gap area. It will provide route choices. It will help improve traffic circulation, and thereby reduce traffic congestion along Ali‘i Drive and in the region. As stated previously, residents in the area or visitors will have options for travel, which will 4 EXHIBIT E