HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 0439.002 2002-2004 February 3.2004
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Councilman James Y. Arakaki z'..' m t
25 Aupuni St. ca '
Hilo, HI 96720
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Dear Councilman Arakaki: w -
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I have been a resident of West Hawau since August 2002, and in the past eighteen months I h2t+e
seen the traffic problems worsen to an unacceptable degree.
It is necessary for me to use Palani Road almost every day to reach locations in downtown Kona,
and often the flow of traffic on this road is stop & go. I also find the density of traffic on Kuakini
Road especially bad at the junctions of Palani, Henry and worst of all - Hualalai.
Coming from the East Coast, $ is incomprehensible to me that streets such as Kealakehe Parkway
and Lako are still not thruways due to unfinished short distances to connect both ends. It is vital
for Kealakehe to be completed -there are schools there! It is also important for Lako to be
finished so residents of Holualoa can use it to get downtown and avoid having to drive only on the
dangerous Hualalai Road.
I volunteer at Kona Community Hospital once a week, and my heart goes out to South Kona
residents who must use Rt. 11 daily to commute to work. Early morning and late afternoon rush
hours aze a HORROR!
I have been following the Hokufia events and shake my head in unbelief that several yeazs after a
developer is granted rights and sinks millions of dollars into a project that a judgment is made to
halt it, which also stops the vitally needed bypass road which would alleviate the traffic problems in
South Kona . Something is seriously wrong with the law here!
Also, why is there such an unfair allotment of tax dollars with West Hawau paying 70% and
receiving less than 10% back for its needs, when West Hawaii has such serious problems and our
hard earned money is continuously poured into Hilo projects? This amounts to "Taxation without
Representation," the wazcry of our patriots during the American Revolution.
I hope this letter makes you awaze of how I and every Kona resident I talk to feel. If our elected
officials continue to ignore our problems, I believe the best solution, though drastic, would be to
create two separate counties so Kona could use the money from its taxpayers to improve its infra-
structure instead of diverting the bulk of our tax dollars to Hilo.
Yours truly, ~ ~JQ
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