HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 0609.006 2022-2024 p/Council
bill [07
COMM.601
From: Marilyn Johnson _
Sent: Tuesday, December 19, 2023 9:50 AM
To: Council Testimony _
Subject: Support for Bill 107 Puna Makai route _...
I live in Lower Puna and fullysupport the idea of a studyabout a Puna Makai route. I would like a studyto a ress` he`
PP ��. �
following questions.
1. What is the purpose of the route? Is it for emergency use only,for when Hwy 130 access is closed for whatever
reason?Or is it meant for daily use to relieve traffic on Highway 130?
2. If the purpose is emergency use only, how would such a route be maintained during non-emergency times?
Graveled roads are destroyed by our heavy rain if there is no maintenance.
3. If the purpose is for daily use to relieve traffic on Hwy 130, a traffic study should look at how an alternate route
could make it easier for people to get between frequented locations without traveling on Hwy 130. For example,
schools create heavy hwy 130 traffic at pick-up and drop-off times. Can their be"back routes"to schools from
subdivisions to keep traffic off the highway? (Or better yet, can the council pass a bill to provide financial
incentives for parents to send children on school buses, but that's a different topic)
4. A traffic study should also explore whether it makes better sense to spend more money to eliminate bottlenecks
on Hwy 130, and spend less money on a makai alternative route. For example, should the makai route be a a
defined wiggly"back route"that can easily be used to get between localized places, but can also be used to
travel longer distances (e.g. all the way to Hilo) if Hwy 130 is closed?The makai hwy could be what other
jurisdictions call an Arterial Route.
5. What is the maintenance budget for any makai route, and where will the money come from?
6. Will the makai route also provide an alternative route for people living makai of the Lower East Rift Zone (LERZ), •
i.e. Kalapana and all subdivisions makai of Pahoa?Or will it be phased in,first benefiting the more populated
HPP area mauka of the LERZ?And then later benefiting the people living in lava zones 1 and 2.
A fully support a study because there are so many questions to get answered before it can be considered a shovel ready
project.
Thank you for your attention to this matter.
Marilyn Johnson
Comm. No 'U( .U
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