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HomeMy WebLinkAboutRES 149 Draft 02 2004-2006 qtr or COUNTY OF HAWAII STATE OF HAWAII »~Cr~Mr+' RESOLUTION NO. 149 ti';, (Drafr 2) RESOLUTION REQUESTING THE STATE DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION TO EXPEDITE A STUDY TO DETERMINE NEEDED SAFETY IMPROVEMENTS TO THE KEA`AU-PAHOA ROAD (STATE HIGHWAY 130) BETWEEN KEA`AU AND PAHOA AND REQUESTING THE COUNTY DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC WORKS TO INITIATE A STUDY TO DETERMINE NEEDED SAFETY IMPROVEMENTS TO THE PAHOA- POHO`IKI ROAD BETWEEN COUNTY HIGHWAY 132 AND COUNTY HIGHWAY 137 AND AT KAPOHO-KALAPANA BEACH ROAD (COUNTY HIGHWAY 137) NEAR HONOLULU LANDING WHEREAS, the Kea`au-Pahoa Road (State Highway l30) is the only direct route between Puna and Hilo and has been subject to periodic closure due to traffic crashes and flooding at Waipahoehoe Bridge; and WHEREAS, there are no signalized intersections on State Highway 130 between Kea'au and Pahoa and the portion of the State Highway 130 between Shower Drive and Maku`u Drive in Hawaiian Paradise Park has over 100 buildable lots fronting the highway, the majority of which currently require access to the State Highway from private driveways, where the allowed speed limit is 55 miles per hour; and WHEREAS, major access roads to State Highway 130 at Kaloli Drive and Paradise Drive in Hawaiian Paradise Park do not have right-turn acceleration lanes, nor are there adequate lefr- turn pockets at Orchid Land Drive in Orchid Land Estates and Ainaloa Boulevard in the Ainaloa Subdivision, especially needed during the morning rush hour to Hilo; and WHEREAS, the drafr Puna Regional Circulation Plan specifically calls for safety improvements to intersections along State Highway 130 in its Action Plan section; and WHEREAS, State Highway 130 is a road of major importance to the citizens and visitors to Hawaii and in its current condition is a dangerous and unsafe road, as evidenced by the North Hawaii Motor Vehicle Fatality Reduction Project Final Report-October 2002, sponsored by the North Hawaii Outcomes Project, which shows that Hawaii County has an average motor vehicle related fatality rate (per agc adjusted 100,000/population from 1996-2000) which is three times higher than the City and County of Honolulu and two times higher than Maui and Kauai counties, and that within Hawaii County, the number of motor vehicle related deaths is highest in Puna; and WHEREAS, the members of the community attended a public meeting in Pahoa on May 12, 2005, and expressed concern about the number of crashes and deaths on State Highway 130 to Rodney Haraga, Director of the State Department of Transportation, and requested reduction of the speed limit to 45 miles per hour in appropriate areas and expedited efforts to improve safety on State Highway 130; and WHEREAS, Director Rodney Haraga committed to do an in-house safety study, including a speed study, to determine whether improvements are warranted at various intersections along State Highway 130, including intersections at Ainaloa Boulevard, Auli`i Street, Maku`u Drive, Paradise Drive, Kaloli Drive and Orchid Land Drive, prior to the installation of a traffic signal at Shower Drive in Hawaiian Paradise Park contemplated as part of the ongoing Kea`au-Pahoa Road Shoulder Lane Conversion project between Kea`au Bypass Road to Shower Drive; and WHEREAS, the Pahoa-Poho`iki Road which connects State Highway 130 to Pahoa- Kapoho Road (County Highway 132) and Kapoho-Kalapana 13each Road (County Highway 137) near the Isaac Hale (Poho'iki) Beach Park, is the only area with public access to the shoreline along the Puna Makai coast; and WHF,REAS, the Pahoa-Poho`iki Road, and the Kapoho-Kalapana Beach Road (County Highway 137) near Honolulu Landing, which are lined with mango groves protected under a County ordinance relating to exceptional trees, are dangerous roads that are important to the needs of our recreational and boating community and in need of improvements to address public safety issues, including access by fire trucks; and WHEREAS, the members of the community attended a public meeting in Pahoa on July 28, 2005, regarding the proposed Poho`iki Bypass Project, which provides a new intersection between the Pahoa-Poho`iki Road and County Highway 137, and expressed concern about dangerous conditions on the Pahoa-Poho`iki Road, primarily due to several mango trees within the roadway, to Bruce McClure, Director of the County Department of Public Works, and suggested moving appropriate mango trees, making vehicles travelling uphill to yield to traffic, and installing safety signage; and WHEREAS, Director McClure agreed to look at various measures, such as those suggested by the public, to improve driving safety along the Pahoa-Poho`iki Road; and WHEREAS, it is recognized that public education and law enforcement is an integral part of improving traffic safety and needs increased attention in addition to the various road improvements described above. THEREFORE BE fl' RESOLVED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE COUNTY OF HAWAII to request the State Department of Transportation expedite a study to determine needed safety improvements to State Highway 130 between Kea`au and Pahoa and to request the County Department of Public Works to initiate a study to determine needed safety improvements to the Pahoa-Poho`iki Road between County Highway 132 and County Highway 137 and at Kapoho-Kalapana Beach Road (County Highway 137) near Honolulu Landing; and 2 FURTHER THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE COUNTY OF HAWAII to request the State Department of Transportation and the County Department of Public Works and County Police Department study be done on or before November 30, 2005; and BE IT FINALLY RESOLVED that the County Clerk of the County of Hawaii shall transmit copies of this Resolution to the Office of the Governor, the State Department of Transportation, the Office of the Mayor, the County Department of Public Works and the County Police Department. Dated at xona ,Hawaii, this 2lstday of September , 2005. INTRODUCED BY: , ~ ~ - COUNCIL MEMBER, COUNTY OF HAWAII COUNTY COUNCIL ROLL CALL VOTE County of Hawaii AYES NOES ABS EX HllO, Hawai`1 ARAKAKI X RIGA 1 hereby certify that the foregoing RESOLUTION was by HOFFMANN the vote indicated to the right hereof adopted by the COUNCIL of the HOLSCHUH X County ofHawai`ion Sc~~tr~mher ?1, ?OQ5 IKEDA ISBELL X ATTEST: JACOBSON X PILAGO X ~/f SAFARIK X ' ~ 9 0 0 0 Reference: C-392.1/PSPRC -14 COUNTY CLERK CHAIRMAN & PRESIDING OF nR RESOLUTION NO. ! 1;.x 3