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HomeMy WebLinkAboutREP PWMTC 027 2020/10/20 2018-2020REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC WORKS AND MASS TRANSIT DATE: October 20, 2020 Re: Comm. No. 1099/Res. No. 746-20 PLACE: Hilo, Hawaii TIME: 10:47 a.m. Council Chair and Members Hawaii County Council Hilo, Hawaii 96720 Your Committee on Public Works and Mass Transit, to which was referred Resolution No. 746-20, reports as follows: Resolution No. 746-20, introduced by Committee Chair Susan L.K. Lee Loy via Communication No. 1099, adopts the Hawaii Island Vision Zero Action Plan. The action plan, attached to the resolution as an Exhibit A, establishes a way to eliminate traffic deaths on Hawaii Island streets. It represents a shift in transportation philosophy to prioritize the preservation of human life over the convenience of traveling quickly on streets across the island. Prior to discussion, Tina Clothier, interim Executive Director for Peoples Advocacy for Trails Hawaii (PATH) and a member of the County's Vision Zero Task Force, provided an overview of the action plan. Ms. Clothier in her public testimony recounted the Mayor's proclamation establishing the task force, the Council's Resolution No. 38-19 in support, and the work of the task force in convening interagency meetings, gathering and refining data, and the Planning Department's role in coordinating the effort. The task force intends to develop and submit to the Council an annual report to assess the progress, she said. Planning Director Michael Yee said the plan is the culmination of the multi -modal tours that he and some members of the Council took to sites in Washington and Oregon, during which the concept of Vision Zero was presented. Planner Natasha Soriano reviewed the significant findings with the crash mapping and data analysis, notably the strong correlation of alcohol, drug impairment, and excessive speed with fatal crashes. Native Hawaiians were three times as likely to die in car accident compared to Caucasians, and Hawaii residents comprised most fatalities, as opposed to visitors. The action plan looks at education and enforcement, but also at the engineering of roads to install traffic calming devices. Council members engaged in a lengthy discussion about the merits of Complete Streets policy, and road design, including vehicle -free zones and pedestrian rights, which Ms. Soriano said will be addressed in a future resolution. PWMTC Report No.: 27 PWMTC-27 Page 2 October 20, 2020 Committee Member Tim Richards asked whether the action plan has studied the correlation of drivers being involved in accidents because of their being tired, and connected it to the need for housing to be built in West Hawaii. Ms. Soriano said that driver exhaustion was not a metric that the task force used because it was hard to quantify. Committee Member Valerie Poindexter said narrowing and attention -grabbing roadway markings could be other ways to reduce traffic speeds by making motorists aware of how fast they are driving. Committee Member Ashley Kierkiewicz appreciated the organization of the action plan into short term goals (with a two-year timeframe), medium term goals (with a five-year timeframe) and long term goals (with a 10 -year timeframe). She asked whether actions will begin once the plan is adopted, or whether action is happening already. Director Yee said the education and encouragement components are already happening, and the long-term goals lay out a plan. He said "progressive leadership" would be necessary to continue work in the next administration. Ms. Soriano said the coming annual report would be generated by the Planning Department in partnership with PATH. She planned to keep quarterly (at minimum) meetings with the stakeholders and will be working with partners in the State. Ms. Clothier said PATH is committed to seeing the Vision Zero Action Plan through the next 10 years. She hoped at some point there would be a Vision Zero webpage on the County's website. Committee Member Aaron Chung said he supported the adoption of the action plan and congratulated all involved. He commented that the correlation between substance abuse and traffic fatalities is "intuitive," and noted that most of the fatalities happened on highways, as opposed to urban streets. Law enforcement checkpoints on highways would help to reduce highway fatalities, he said. Mr. Chung also asked why Native Hawaiians are overrepresented in the fatality count. Director Yee said it would be hard to draw big conclusions about the disparity. Asked by Mr. Chung about what plan the County had to address the inequity, the director said all five areas are worthy of focus, including education and encouragement, that can help the Native Hawaiian population, rather than merely enforcement. Ms. Soriano said reducing road striping widths from 12 to 11 feet could help to curb speeding. With regards to the higher fatality rate for Native Hawaiians, that could be addressed in a future iteration of the action plan. Mr. Chung said reducing the road widths would not increase the number DUI -related fatalities at night, but it would increase the non -DUI accidents during the daytime. PWMTC Report No.: 27 PWMTC-27 Page 3 October 20, 2020 Director Yee commented that traffic enforcement officers undergo specific training to perform DUI checkpoints, but training the officers has to be done in Honolulu. One of the details in strengthening the enforcement goal of Vision Zero involves figuring out how to get the training done on Hawaii Island so we can have more of the officers trained, he said, to improve the prosecution rate. Mr. Chung refocused the conversation by again asking for more enforcement on the highways, as a deterrent to impaired driving, to reduce the fatalities. Committee Vice Chair Matt Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder asked how the plan interfaces with highways, which are managed by the Hawaii Department of Transportation. Director Yee responded that the State did pass Act 134, Session Laws of Hawaii 2019, which created a statewide Vision Zero task force, and as that task force does its work, there will be recommendations coming forth, and interdepartmental communication. Vice Chair Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder asked how the County works with the Department of Transportation to create Complete Streets. Ms. Soriano said she hoped that education, enforcement, and encouragement provides the system -wide approach to create a driving culture that is more aware of pedestrians and bicyclists. Vice Chair Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder called the action plan a good step, and he looked forward to seeing how it would be implemented. Ms. Poindexter praised Ms. Clothier's leadership on the action plan and gave her perspective on drivers who may not be alcohol -impaired, but may be tired due to having to travel long distances for work, school, and events. The sugar plantations had the right idea when communities were built around the mill, so that travel would be minimized for everything other than interscholastic competitions, she said. Your Committee is in accord with the purpose and intent of Resolution No. 746-20, and recommends its adoption. nc Respectfully submitted, COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC WORKS AND MASS TRANSIT . K. LE&LO DOPED 0 6 2024 AYES NOES ABS EX CHUNG X DAVID X EOFF X KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER X KIERKIEWICZ X LEE LOY X POINDEXTER X RICHARDS X VILLEGAS X Respectfully submitted, COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC WORKS AND MASS TRANSIT . K. LE&LO DOPED 0 6 2024