Laserfiche WebLink
THE NEW "KEAA'U BOTTLENECK <br /> Are you concerned with traffic in the Keaa'u area? If so, you are not alone. !V~Ii9rt the <br /> State of Hawaii did the study to determine whether or not to build a "Bx a s" road tr f is <br /> congestion was the biggest problem identified by Puna residents. It stiW~s~ ~ Ja~t. ~~e y 2 5 <br /> Hawaii Tribune-Heralds front page headline was "Keaa'u traffic gets an F",,ti~sciibing 4S <br /> minute waits around the new elementry school. Poor design of the acces~.a`Ft~d, lpcation _ <br /> make it impossible to get all the kids picked up in a safe and timely manner ` " I ~ :I <br /> Coming up is a whole new problem. Shipman wants to develop a new shopping center <br /> on the mauka side of the big intersection were the Bypass Road meets the Volcano <br /> Highway. That's right, at the bottom of the hill, on the curve, right where nobody wants <br /> to stop. Everbody will have to. Anybody who drives this road knows that people are <br /> going at high speeds in this area, in fact, anyone who has used the Bypass road coming <br /> into Hilo from Pahoa knows that this is a high speed intersection. The State has <br /> appazently agreed to let Shipman have this access for their shopping center, which means <br /> a 4-way traffic signal, and a Pedestrian cross-walk. That intersection will be the biggest <br /> one on the island, about 160 feet to cross it. The wait times for everbody to turn left in <br /> each direction will make it a longer light than Wailoa Bridge @ Suisan, the Borders light <br /> neaz Wal-Mart on Makaala St., and the Puainako intersection @KTA and the Mall. It <br /> will be very dangerous, especially given the schools in the area. I can imagine high <br /> school kids pulling over on the shoulder of the Bypass, on their way to Hilo, dropping off <br /> their friends on the right side of the road, and then those kids running across the highway. <br /> I can also imagine when somebody plows into somebody else in the middle of this <br /> intersection. Gridlock! Traffic will back up all the way to KTA. It happened this past <br /> summer during construction, and that was with one lane open all the time. <br /> The new shopping center, called Keaa'u Gateways, is obviously designed to control the <br /> "market" of Puna shoppers. Everbody in Puna must pass this spot every time they enter <br /> and leave Puna. That's why it's called a Gateway. It is also a "chokehold". <br /> This really disturbs me, 1 live in Volcano and this will affect me every day of my life. <br /> The County Council will vote on this on Tuesday , Feb. 2 at 2:00 p.m. Be there if you <br /> care. <br /> David Miranda, Volcano <br /> <br /> ~,~„-z-.01~~ti-4-.,, c!r-- <br /> 9! ~~53 <br /> Comm. No. ~ <br /> " D <br /> File No. <br /> I.ef. To:_ <br /> l~~r, i~nt~ C=EB o a 2000 <br /> <br />