HomeMy WebLinkAboutCommunication No. 2022-06 -Letter to Director Infrastructure Priorities Communication No.2022-06
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Mitchell D.Roth `'+, Zendo Kern
Mayor Director
Lee E.Lord
Managing Director o. Jeffrey W.Darrow
�rE uc•M�r+ DeputyDirector
WestHawai`i Office
74-5044 Ane Keohokalole HwyG Bast Hawaii Office
Kailua-Kona,Hawaii 96740 County Hawaii 101 Pauahi Street,Suite 3
Phone(808)7-3-4770 HiloPLANNING DEPARTMENT Phone 808 96Hawai'i1-8288
6720
Fax(808)327-3563 ( )
Fax(808)961-8742
DATE: March 14, 2022
TO: ZENDO KERN
Planning Director, Planning Department
FROM: SOUTH KOHALA CDP ACTION COMMITTEE
SUBJECT: South Kohala CDP Infrastructure Priorities
Dear Director Kern:
At the South Kohala Community Development Plan's Action Committee meeting today, we
voted to request your advocacy to the Mayor on our behalf to prioritize funding for infrastructure
projects in our district. This is intended to guide allocation of the substantial federal dollars that
were allotted in the $1 trillion infrastructure bill that passed with bipartisan support in the last
Congressional session, and was signed into law by President Biden.
Hawaii State is receiving $2.8 billion. This unprecedented influx of funds is for long-delayed
infrastructure repairs of roads and bridges, plus new traffic infrastructure needed in areas of
population growth. In the County of Hawaii, the distribution of the funds will ultimately come
down to Mayor Roth's decision on which community projects get funded. We ask you to
advocate on behalf of the priorities that are documented in the South Kohala Community
Development Plan regarding infrastructure and emergency preparedness needs, along with
priority projects that have been identified through extensive community meetings since. The list
below does not cover things that have come up in the interim 14 years since that plan was
developed, such as the much-needed resolution of traffic control at the Waikoloa Road/Paniolo
Avenue intersection, which was not specified in the SKCDP, but was noted in the last Hawaii
County General Plan of 2005, stating that"the Waikoloa Intersection needs a Stop Light."
Specifically, our community requests include:
1) To mitigate the risk of natural disasters, the Puak6 community requested the construction
of the Paniau Evacuation Route and considered it a"top priority." (P.138)
2) To provide transportation and circulation, "Plan, Fund, and Construct a Second Access
Road to Queen Ka`ahumanu Highway" as a"top priority"both to accommodate
increasing traffic volumes...and more importantly, to provide a second emergency egress
www.planning.hawaiicounty.gov Hawaii County is an Equal Opportunity Provider and Employer planning(a�hawaiicounty.gov
Zendo Kern, Director
Planning Department
March 14, 2022
Page 2
route for Waikoloa residents, noting that"the most significant type of natural disaster that
threatens the Waikoloa community is the threat of wildfires." (P.102)
3) To provide transportation and circulation, a) implement short-term traffic mitigation
improvements in and around Waimea Town Center, b) design and construct the Parker
Ranch Connector Road, c) design and construct the Lalamilo Connector Road, and d)
resolve the best alignment for the proposed Waimea/Kawaihae Road Bypass Highway.
(Pages 75-76.)
4) To widen and realign the Waiaka Bridge. The South Kohala CDP specifically asked that
these urgent safety improvements would create a new bridge suitable for vehicular traffic
while preserving the old bridge for multi-modal use.
We appreciate you delivering our message to the Mayor on our behalf.
Sincerely yours,
Ruth A. Smith, Chair, SKCDP-AC
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