HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 1168.047 2006-2008
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Murashige, Laura
From: Ann Peterson [anncinzi@gmail.com] !_°j
Sent: Sunday, June 01, 2008 11:43 AM 2888 JUN O
To: counciltestimony@co.hawaii.hi.us
Subject: Supporting Bill 285
Aloha,
I am writing to support Bill 285 that will allocate funding to complete Waimea Trails & Greenways and
provide funding to improve safety conditions around schools.
There are so many reasons why this bill is critical to the our island that it's amazing that it didn't pass
upon initial hearing. Your support NOW will help:
• Mitigate traffic congestion - As you know traffic congestion is a major problem. By providing
safe alternatives, and especially with the high cost of fuel, people will walk and bike. (note:
Portland, Oregon reduced car trips by 62 million a year with these types of measures.
http://www.walkablestreets.comiport.htm)
• Create healthy lifestyles and reduce obesity - by supporting the principals of Safe Routes to
School and building a safe environment around school students will have the opportunity to walk
or bike to school. In the 11 years that PATH has cofiducted SRTS studies in schools around the
island, Hawaii Island students want to walk or bike to school, and parents want to let their
child walk but will not until conditions are safer. The US Congress found this issue so critical that
it allocated 10 percent of its massive Transportation Bill towards Safe Routes to School - please
echo their initiative. It's time to make the health and safety of children a priority.
• Provide equal transportation opportunities for over 30% of our island's population that is
too old, too young, too poor, or too disabled to own or drive a car. That Hawaii Island has been
developed to accommodate car travel is sadly obvious.
• Help your constituents save money - While Hawaii is one of the most expensive places to live,
wages here are among the lowest in the national.Cars are expensive! By choice, I never owned a
car for the first 45 years of my life until I moved to Hawaii Island 15 years ago. Now, close to
20% of my wages goes toward my car (and I've gained 40 pounds!). I would love to lower or
completely lose this cost, and have a healthy alternative. I know of many others who would as
well.
• Help build community and a sense of place. I was fortunate to be part of PATH and the
County's efforts to build Old Walua Road Bike and Pedestrian Scenic Route, a separated 8' wide
pathway in North Kona that opened in 1996, and have followed its history these past 12 years.
People of all ages, ethnicities and socio-economic backgrounds use this pathway - people
commuting into Kailua or home, people getting FREE exercise, and kids on their way to the
school bus. OWRB&PR is a place where neighbors meet face-to-face (instead of behind tons of
steel and glass) and it has helped to bring people together. It's amazing how many friendships
have been formed between folks who walk along this route - this familiarity helps create a sense
of place and a place worth caring about.
• Honor the long dedication and work of the Waimea community - Have you ever heard of any
other group who has met WEEKLY for 14 years? The Waimea Trails and Greenways committee
has done just that, and their efforts need to be recognized and realized. The WT&G project was
considered worthy of Federal Transportation Enhancement (TE) funds with county support at an
80:20 match over 10 years ago. It's embarrassing that this project has not been completed. T
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6/2/2008 Ref. Date EU 2 2W
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funds have transformed communities across the nations, and here we are still trying to get one
pathway built. Please make this project part of your legacy.
Your support for Bill 285 will help set the direction toward a friendlier community and helps meet the
objectives listed above.
Mahalo nui loa for your righteous support.
Ann C. Peterson
78-6736 Walua Road
Kailua-Kona, Hawai' i 96740
808-987-0185
6/2/2008