HomeMy WebLinkAbout2018-06-29 Alahou Street Extension Opening -- A Big Boost to Interconnectivity in Kona
Wil Okabe
Managing Director
Harry Kim
Mayor
Barbara J. Kossow
Deputy Managing Director
County of Hawai‘i
Office of the Mayor
25 Aupuni Street, Suite 2603 Hilo, Hawai‘i 96720 (808) 961-8211 Fax (808) 961-6553
KONA: 74-5044 Ane Keohokālole Hwy., Bldg C Kailua-Kona, Hawai‘i 96740
(808) 323-4444 Fax (808) 323-4440
June 29, 2018
NEWS RELEASE
Alahou Street Extension Opening, a Big Boost to Interconnectivity in Kona
The long-awaited Alahou Street Extension opening on June 25, 2018 meant a big boost to
interconnectivity in Kailua-Kona.
It ushers in the interconnection of communities for vehicle and pedestrian connectivity, and the
avoidance of large "cul-de-sac" residential communities which have only one roadway
connection to a major roadway; these were objectives of the Kona Community Development
Plan, the Planning Department said.
The Alahou Street connection is especially important because it enhances the vehicle
connectivity and pedestrian walkability in the core area of the Kailua Village Special District. It
also retrofits the Lono Kona subdivision, a single family and multi-family residential community
of over 500 homes and apartments, which currently has only one road, Kalani Street,
connecting it to a major roadway, Kuakini Highway.
The addition of a new roadway connecting to a stub-out of Alahou Street within the Lono Kona
subdivision involved the crossing over two private properties, one containing a burial site, to
connect to Henry Street. “The County worked with the lineal descendants to allow the resetting
of a burial enclosure wall out of the proposed right-of-way,” said Planning Program Manager
Bennett Mark.
The new Alahou Street Extension brings multiple benefits, Mark said.
The single roadway access to the Lono Kono subdivision has been of concern to the Police and
Fire Departments, in the event that the single existing access road were blocked during an
emergency. The new Extension provides a second ingress and egress route into Lono Kona
Subdivision.
The most noticeable benefit will be the reduction of traffic congestion at the Kalani Street
roadway entry into this Lono Kona subdivision, Mark said.
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