HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 0047.029 2020-2022 /C4o
al
6
COMM.47
i
From: Helen Rogers
Sent: Tuesday, December 22, 2020 11:58 AM COUNTY CLERK
To: Council Testimony COUNTY OF I®I
Cc: Kimball, Heather; Chung, Aaron RECEIVED
Subject: Bill 217 Time I I` a•M. EiYew
Date DEC 2 2 202
Please vote no on Bill 217.
Safetyissue.ssue. Valerie Poindexter stated that pedestrians on Waipio Valley Road are "a recipe for disaster," but this is
not supported by the accident record.
Kicking off the pedestrians may actually have severe unintended consequences beyond their then opting to drive
down instead and adding to the vehicular dangers.
Pedestrians may be making the road safer. Where traffic has to be slow anyway (as on this road), having pedestrians
around encourages slower, more vigilant driving, and the result is fewer and milder accidents. (See the work on
°shared spaces" begun by traffic engineer Hans Mondermam) The drivers will subjectively feel unsafe and adjust their
driving accordingly, thus making everyone on the road safer.
What will happen when drivers think they have the road to themselves? The last fatal accident occurred 18 years ago
at night, when few or no pedestrians might be expected. According to police, a truck was "traveling recklessly at a
very high rate of speed" when attempting to overtake another vehicle. It went over the cliff.
Before making a change that could end up endangering us all, get a proper traffic study done by traffic
experts to assess the present situation and recommend road safety improvements aimed at mitigating risk.
Their analysis must be based on evidence, including the physical condition of the road, measurements of
traffic volume and speed, usage data, surveys of different user types, accident history, etc.
Public access. The counties are tasked by the State with maintaining a list of their legal public shoreline
accesses. In all of the Hamakua District, there is only one such access to the shoreline and that is the
County road down to the mile-long Waipio shoreline. Only one.
According to the State statute (Sec. 115-7) entitled "Public Access to Coastal and Inland Recreational
Areas" the "development and maintenance of the rights-of-way ... shall be the responsibility of the county."
The County has a duty to keep the road open for pedestrian access to public lands and to develop and
maintain the road so that it can be used for this purpose.
r
Comm. No
Ref. To: YIUAYW�l I
1 Ref. twee DEC 2 3 2020 I