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TESTIMONY TO THE HAWAI'I COUNTY COUNCIL
REGARDING BILL 107 r�
January 5, 2024
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ALOHA Hawai'i Council Members, •
My name is Gary Saito and I am a resident of Kea'au. This is the second time I am submitting
testimony to you urging passage of Bill 107.
I was discouraged to see that on a recent consideration of this bill, the Council was unable to
commit to approving the funding for a study on a Puna Makai Alternate Route. Those who live
in the Puna area have been aware of the need for such a route for more than a decade and the
tragedy in Lahaina last year has made that need an urgent one for us. We hope you will consider
our lives as important as those that were lost in Lahaina for lack of an adequate way to escape a
wildfire crisis.
But even beyond such a tragedy, there are many other circumstances that call out for traffic
mitigation in emergency situations in which medical, fire,_civil defense, and law enforcement
vehicles need quick access to our communities. In the Puna area, we are vulnerable to situations
brought on by such things as tsunamis, hurricanes,wildfires, droughts, and lava flows. Many of
these cannot be predicted with enough advance notice to evacuate large communities effectively.
As you must know, Puna is the fastest growing area in the State of Hawaii and the longer we
delay traffic route planning, the greater will be the risk to our expanding population. It is already
known that the existing roadways are inadequate to serve our communities, much less in a crisis.
Should a tragedy occur like that in Lahaina, we will certainly be judged, after the fact, as having
been derelict in our duty to exercise reasonable forethought and to do necessary planning when
we had the time and the funds to do it.
Please consider the value of all the lives of the people of Puna. Allow for scoping and planning
of an alternate route without restrictions, limitations, or amendments. We need the best solutions
on the table because people's lives are at stake. No options should be excluded. Please pass Bill
107 as is.
Gary Saito
15-2660 Pahoa Village Rd, Ste 203-464
Pahoa, HI 96778
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