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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 0609.041 2022-2024 p /Council io7 COUNT Y C L E 1/8/2024 C,oMM. �,Oa Russell Ruderman COUNT OF fiA.w ' 1VVII JAN -8 Ari 8: 12 Aloha Councilmembers, I am writing in support of Bill 107, Comm#609. This bill would support a"Study"for Puna Makai Alternate Route, or PMAR. PMAR has been in the Puna Community Development Plan for decades. It is intended to address the worst traffic jam on our island, and serve as a much needed disaster preparedness route for the most disaster-prone area of our island. It is not merely to relieve congestion,but is needed for public safety. As you all know, Lower Puna is the most under-served area on our island, and has been for over 40 years. It also still the fastest-growing part of our island. Its needs cannot be ignored. It has the unique problem of only having one route in and out(Highway 130) for over 25,000 residents, including the most populous subdivision in our state, HPP. HPP has over 12,000 residents and is not even half built out; its population will continue to grow. And it is not in a threatened lava hazard zone. Highway 130 is also the deadliest highway in our state. When the highway is closed for a serious accident, as happens several times a year,there is no way someone in lower Puna to get to the hospital. Or to school, airport, or work. (In Puna there is no hospital, airport,port,no higher education classrooms, and few jobs. Puna's people work in Hilo and commute.) I hope you will read the attached article which I wrote for Civil Beat last year. The often unspoken reason for resistance to PMAR is the longstanding opposition from Shipman Estate. Shipman is incredibly powerful politically and has its people in very powerful positions in the County as well as on the Council itself. As shown in my article, Shipman's leader says they will no longer oppose PMAR and will work with the county if it plans one. None of us are naïve enough to think Shipman's pleasant words here are the end of the story. We see its influence in opposing PMAR still today. But it is time to put the real needs of 25,000 residents above the desires of the largest, wealthiest landowner, finally. It's not merely convenience, it is also about emergency services, evacuation routes and the real needs of people commuting to work. I've lived on both sides of the worst traffic jam on our island. I moved because it was intolerable. Yes,there is congestion on Highway 11, and other roads on our island,but nothing remotely compares to the serious problems along Hwy 130. I am not writing to you about my commute,but about the needs of a very large population of our neighbors. While I have not followed the discussion here at Council closely, I read with interest some of the member's comments in opposition to this measure in the Tribune Herald on 12/24/23, and would like to address those. The councilmember from upper Puna says"We all end up on the Panaewa Stretch, at the `Shipman intersection.' "While this is true today, a full PMAR would actually take traffic off this road,by passing the curiously nicknamed `Shipman intersection,' thus relieving all parts of the Puna traffic mess. I am not sure how this simple point could be missed and misrepresented. But it's completely incorrect. PMAR will relieve the Councilmember's, and my, traffic also. Even an abbreviated PMAR which ended at Macadamia road or similar would relieve the worst bottleneck on Hwy 11, which is at the `Shipman intersection.' 808-443-1703 17-415 Ipuaiwaha St Comm. No W nncicell@islandnaturals.com Keaau HI 96749 Ref. To: Ref. Date ;JAN 1 0 2024 Two Kona Councilmembers did not give their reason for opposing. As I drove yesterday along the 4 lane highway in Kona,which expand to 8 lanes in parts, and realize there are multiple alternative routes besides, I find any opposition to Puna's desperate needs from these neighbors inexplicable. Then there is the persistent opposition from Councilmember Lee Loy. She cited concerns about the impact on Hawaiian Home Lands in Panaewa. Interestingly she is also aligned, as always, with Shipman's position but does not mention it. The supposed impacts on Panaewa community deserve to be addressed seriously, which I do in my article. If there were real opposition,which is not known,then alternate ending routes could be considered. But the reality is this—there has never been a presentation to the Panaewa community of the pros and cons of this proposal, nor has there ever been a vote by the community. There are benefits to good roads as well as negative impacts. Moreover, this is the one part of PMAR that is already built! Railroad Avenue here is a good, wide road that was built to accommodate such traffic someday. There is no need to impact any homes here, for further construction, or to inconvenience anyone. This oft-repeated reason for opposing PMAR is a red herring. There are no impacts needed, and the opposition is purely theoretical. I have great respect for the concerns of Hawaiian Home Lands residents, and indeed all residents. But this is not an airport, a waste treatment facility, or a landfill. We're talking about using a road, an already existing road for the purpose for which it was built. The use of this red herring to support Shipman's hidden opposition is inappropriate, is an insult to the residents of this community, and is a disservice to all concerned. It is not surprising but it is also not respectable. I commend Puna Councilmember Keirkiewicz and Puna Rep. Ilagan for advancing this much needed measure. I am curious why Puna Senator SanBuenaventura's voice is absent,but I'm sure she is busy. I hope you will all fully support it going forward. ******* I am including the Civil Beat article I wrote on this subject on 7/24/23. This is available here: https://www.civilbeat.org/2023/07/russell-ruderman-finally-some-good-news-for-puna-residents/ And reprinted on the following pages. Russell Ruderman: Finally, Some Good News For Puna Residents A powerful Big Island landowner seems to be backing off it's opposition to a much-needed road from Puna to Hilo. Now, the county needs to act. By Russell Ruderman For many years, the lower Puna community has lived with a situation that would be intolerable anywhere else in our state. This is the traffic congestion and the highway closures on Highway 130, aka Keaau-Pahoa Road, which is the only way in or out for about 25,000 residents. Every workday there are traffic delays affecting commuters here, often taking 30 minutes or more to go three miles, morning and afternoon. There is nowhere in our state where such an unnecessary 808-443-1703 17-415 Ipuaiwaha St russell@islandnaturals.com Keaau HI 96749 traffic delay occurs regularly, and where there are no alternate roads to bypass it. Along some parts there is a single lane serving about 10,000 daily commuters. When I worked in Honolulu and commuted home to the Big Island on Fridays, I would encounter frustrating traffic delays on the way from downtown to the Honolulu airport, but there are alternate highways and surface roads if it got bad enough. Arriving at the Hilo airport with only a few miles to drive home, I'd be in traffic with delays of 30 to 45 minutes on a typical day, with no alternate roads to take. This rural community has worse traffic problems, with more serious consequences, than urban Honolulu. But it gets much worse than delays and inconvenience. When the highway is closed for an accident, these delays become two or three hours. When there is a fatal accident, it's closed (not delayed, closed!) for six hours or more. This happens every year at least, because this stretch of highway has long been the deadliest stretch of highway in our state. The Puna district on Hawaii island is about 500 square miles, roughly the size of Oahu. (April Estrellon/Civil Beat/2023) During these times, there is literally no way to get from the homes of these 25,000 people to the airport, to the university, to jobs in Hilo, back home at night, and to the only hospital in East Hawaii. It's not just inconvenience, it's a matter of life and death for someone with an urgent medical condition. Puna is the fastest-growing district in our state, even with the losses from the 2018 lava flows. It's also the most populous district on the island with over 50,000 residents. It's essentially a suburb of Hilo, and where a lot of Hilo workers live. Because of the relatively affordable land and many vacant lots, this growth will continue for many years. The Puna Community Development Plan has long called for a Puna Makai Alternate Road, or PMAR. Every survey of Puna residents finds traffic and inadequate roads are the biggest issues. Residents and planners have for decades looked to the development of Railroad Avenue as the logical path for PMAR. So why has there been no progress on this urgent community need? Shipman Estate. For many years, W.H. Shipman Ltd., which owns much of the land surrounding a proposed new route, has blocked plans for what is the best possible route from Lower Puna to Hilo along Railroad Avenue. Although mostly privately owned now, it already exists as a right of way. Using this route for 808-443-1703 17-415 Ipuaiwaha St russell@islandnaturals.com Keaau HI 96749 PMAR is logical and doable. Shipman has opposed PMAR for many years, most often citing the fear of increased farm theft as the reason, on behalf of its tenants. But now, there's some hope that Shipman might be backing down from its historic opposition. Figure 4-1: Proposed Transportation Corridor Improvements 1 5 5 I c F,?i,,, I l l l I l l l I ' �""' „, t \ Milo Malta lnlo ,c i Puna Trad __—, t \ 1 To Hilo Mateo,,1 ToFIA11or130 `�`� TON*130 M ioutsidelleP) ofoKablibr. ` JDacific Ocean 1 • \ 1 • • 1 • ♦ • Intersection Improvements ---Potential Extension/Connection —Phase I PMAR ---Phase II PMAR Street Connectors —Scenic Corridors —Trail —Scenic Corridor Unpaved _.._ Trail Alignment To Re Determined Note: The ovals representing "Street Connectors" in the above map indicate the general areas where road connections between existing streets in adjoining subdivisions will be located, subject to a planning, site selection and design process involving the owners and residents of the affected subdivisions(see Section 4.3.3 a). When I asked Shipman for comment for this column, Peggy Farias, president of W.H. Shipman, responded in part: "Should the State and/or County decide to move forward with design and construction, W.H. Shipman, Limited 808-443-1703 17-415 Ipuaiwaha St russell@islandnaturals.com Keaau HI 96749 will work with them to find an alignment that minimizes the negative impacts on our neighbors and farmers," she wrote in an email. "Solutions that reduce the number of cars on the road will, in the long term,be more effective than building another road," she said. "Some of these solutions include improving public transportation, and focusing on development that brings jobs, services, and housing closer together." This is good news. The company's apparent openness to PMAR has not been expressed in the past. We all want more local jobs,better public transportation, and fewer cars on the road,but these are hypothetical. In reality we still need a functional evacuation route. There are some real logistical issues, each solvable. Where PMAR ends in Hawaiian Paradise Park, the state's most populated subdivision, needs to be smartly planned to minimize negative effects, such as multiple outlets to distribute the traffic. At the Hilo end, PMAR would most logically connect with Railroad Avenue in Hilo,but an alternative is to merge onto Highway 11 between Keaau and Hilo, perhaps using Milo Street. This would address some potential concerns from the Panaewa community, although Railroad Avenue already goes through this area in Hilo. As a first step, this route could be quickly built as an emergency road/bike path/walkway, which would bring great benefits quickly. It could be opened as an evacuation route in emergencies, and when the highway is closed. As a bike route, like Rails-to-Trails projects nationwide, it would provide much needed recreational and commuting options, removing cars from the road. Hilo would then be a 20 minute, mostly level,beautiful bike ride from Hawaiian Paradise Park, a climate-friendly commuting alternative and a visitor attraction. Then in future years it can be opened to a full alternate route. The county needs to build the road, since the state is unlikely to start such a project. We need the county to make this happen. We have a mayor who is bold and forward-looking, and responsive to people's needs, and apparently,the opposition from Shipman has changed. This is refreshing and new, so our hopes are up. Even if Shipman cooperates, it will take many years, so let's start. A large and growing population has an urgent need for an alternate route. It's not a matter of convenience, it's about public safety and disaster preparedness. Shipman Estate and the county need to step up and meet this need. Sincerely, Russell Ruderman, 17-415 Ipuaiwaha St, Keaau, HI 96749 808-443-1703 russell@islandnaturals.com 808-443-1703 17-415 Ipuaiwaha St russell@islandnaturals.com Keaau HI 96749