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4 <br />II. BACKGROUND AND REVIEW OF PAST ACTIVITIES <br />The purpose of this committee was established in Chapter 4 of the Puna Community <br />Development Plan (CDP), which states: <br />"Most roads in Puna's nonconforming subdivisions are privately owned, often in <br />poor physical condition and not designed for through traffic. There are many missing <br />connections between the road networks of adjacent subdivisions. The present circulation <br />network, combined with the district's sprawl development pattern, results in a number of <br />problems: <br />• There is a lack of alternative routes for emergency access, especially when <br />highways are blocked by a traffic crash or downed utility pole, or when there is an <br />natural disasters such as a hurricane, tsunami, lava flow or earthquake that <br />requires evacuation; <br />• Highways become more congested during peak periods due to the lack of <br />alternative roadways <br />• Highway intersections with substandard private streets are dangerous due to <br />inadequate lighting or intersection controls, combined with high traffic speed <br />along the highway; <br />• It is difficult for the County's Mass Transit Agency (MTA) to operate an efficient <br />Hele-On Bus service that offers a viable travel option for a large number of Puna <br />residents, especially those in more remote areas; <br />• There are few facilities for walking or bicycling, even in more built-up areas; and <br />• It can be threatening to cross Highways 130 and I I on foot. This is particularly <br />true for youth, the elderly and the disabled. <br />The Puna Community Development Plan seeks to promote more efficient and <br />environmentally responsible travel by limiting demand for commuting and other trips, <br />promoting mass transit and alternative travel modes; and providing alternate routes to <br />reduce trip lengths and travel time." <br />The Puna CDP establishes the goal of "adequate emergency and evacuation routes and <br />connectivity throughout Puna's roadway network (4.3.1.a) and recommends the creation of <br />"connectivity alignments between the following subdivisions: Hawaiian Acres and Fern Acres, <br />Fern Acres and Kopua Farm Lots, Eden Roc and Fern Forest, Orchidland and Hawaiian Acres, <br />Nanawale and Hawaiian Shores, Hawaiian Beaches and HPP, Kea`au Agricultural Lots and a <br />site adjacent to Kea`au Elementary School, `Ohi`a Estates and Royal Hawaiian Estates. These <br />inter -subdivision roads should be staggered, low -impact, and multi -modal." (Puna CDP, <br />4.3.3.a.5). The Puna CDP identified areas where such alignments could be made but did not go <br />into detail. <br />The Puna CDP Action Committee was established to carry out the recommendations of the plan; <br />and the committee further delegated some of its work to the Connectivity and Emergency <br />Response Subcommittee (CERS). Under the guidance of CERS Chair Marlene Hapai, and in <br />close cooperation with Hawaii County Civil Defense, the Committee planned and executed the <br />first Puna Regional Emergency Preparedness (PREP) Fair on August 31, 2013. One of the <br />purposes of this fair was to solicit input from the community to help identify alternative <br />connectivity points between subdivisions. More than 1,500 people participated in the event at <br />