HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 0159.008 2024-20264/7/25
Aloha Chair Kaneali'i-Kleinfelder, Vice Chair Hustace, and Members of the Committee,
I am writing to request that you fund the initial engineering and design phases for a second,
two-lane, primary arterial road connecting the north end of Waikoloa Village to the Queen
Ka'ahumanu Highway in this year's county budget. We desperately need a second road in the
village. Development has continued unabated for decades while the fuel load surrounding the
village has grown and the climate has worsened. Despite that, commensurate infrastructure
improvements not only haven't kept pace; they haven't even been started. Instead of the plainly
obvious necessary safety measure of a second road, the community has received
half -measures like the PR stunt of a ground blessing ceremony for a currently stalled and
insufficient emergency evacuation route.
The most important reason for a second road is evacuations from wildfires. The village has
received mandatory evacuation orders twice in recent history, in 2005 and in 2021. The 2021
evacuation was personally traumatic, my wife and I were terrified we'd never see our house
again as we sped away with our one year old infant. We tend to be a bit more anxious and
cautious than the average citizen and were among the first people out of the village. During our
evacuation down Waikoloa Road, we were grateful to see many first responders traveling in the
mauka lane towards the village. Not every resident was so fortunate, as many were stuck in a
miles long traffic jam down Paniolo ave, waiting up to an hour to simply get to the main road out
of the village. If a fire were to have breached the village that day, I believe nearly a thousand
people would have died in their cars waiting to get out.
We already have one single lane emergency evacuation route, Hulu street. It is appreciated and
a positive safety relief valve for the community. But it's not enough and a second single lane,
evacuation only route will not be sufficient either. What we need is a true second road that fire
trucks can drive up while residents drive down.
Evacuation from fire is not the only reason a second road is necessary. Development and
construction at the northern tip of the village is accelerating. Beyond the hundreds of luxury and
workforce homes coming in, the state is also building a new library. Waikoloa Heights has plans
for literally thousands of new homes, commercial districts, etc. All of this construction requires
heavy equipment and raw materials. Paniolo avenue is overburdened by a steady stream of
dump trucks and semis hauling heavy equipment and raw materials. These vehicles speed
directly past the school, posing a significant hazard to the many children in the community who
walk to school. Additionally, the noise, pollution and general deterioration of the asphalt on
Paniolo Ave are creating significant negative impacts in the community. If nothing else, the
county will almost certainly have to pave Paniolo well ahead of schedule without another road to
share the truck burden.
In 2004, your predecessor Pete Hoffman, who was then the councilmember for District 9, wrote
a letter as part of the PUD #73 application. In this letter he stated "Today, Waikoloa is a large
cul-de-sac. Tomorrow, it will be an even larger one and immensely more crowded and unsafe. I
argue that the developers, the County and the community must find a solution to the road
shortfalls we now recognize and plan to construct a permanent access road, makai to Queen
Ka'ahumanu Highway" That was 21 years ago!
Moreover, in 2008, the South Kohala CDP recognized a second road as the top priority for
Waikoloa Village. This is one of the county's own advisory boards! The county has known about
this need for decades. Despite that, no real progress has been made on the road that we all
know is necessary. All that is needed in this cycle is the funding for the initial engineering plans
and a final cost estimate. We need a real commitment, now. 20 years ago was the ideal time to
begin work on the second road, but the second best time is right now. We will never finish the
road if we don't start it. Please, start it now.
Mahalo,
Matt Chalker