By James Gonser
Advertiser Leeward Bureau
‘EWA BEACH — Residents of Iroquois Point did not lose their city bus service as expected yesterday after the Navy decided at the eleventh hour to allow bus access to the Navy base through its back gate.
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| It says "closed permanently," but the gate to Iroquois Point was open for buses yesterday.
Advertiser library photo • Feb. 15, 2001 |
The city had planned to cut service to the Navy housing on Route 421, the hourly circular bus around ‘Ewa Beach and Iroquois Point, saying the route had become too time consuming since the back gate was closed in 1999, forcing the bus to take a much longer route down North Road and Iroquois Drive to reach the area. The city also said there aren’t enough riders to warrant the service.
Ending city bus service to Iroquois Point would cut shuttle time in half for other area passengers, but about 900 residents in Navy housing would be left two miles from the nearest bus stop.
A group of Iroquois Point residents asked the city to keep the route operating and presented a petition with 55 signatures to the ‘Ewa Neighborhood Board last month.
The Navy decided Sunday to open the back gate at the end of Fort Weaver Road where it meets Cormorant Avenue, from 5 a.m. to 7 p.m., two days before the service was to end.
Iroquois Point resident Deb Hendricks, who rides the bus her job in Honolulu, is happy the city and the Navy were able to reach an agreement.
"Boy am I glad. We really, really need it," Hendricks said. "Even if it is only every hour we can arrange our schedules to fit it."
Hendricks said her son is in the ROTC at Campbell High School, which begins at 7 a.m., and needs the city bus to get to school on time.
"A lot of the students that go to Ilima Intermediate and Campbell High schools ride the public bus," Hendricks said. "The assigned school bus has limited seating, and for some students the hours don’t coincide."
The Navy closed the gate two years ago, citing security concerns but decided to open the gate during daylight.
With the new quicker route, the city expects to make an entire the loop of the area every half hour.
Stanford Yuen, Intergovernmental Community Affairs Officer for Navy Region Hawai‘i, said, "We are thankful for the city's decision to continue bus service into the Iroquois Point and Pu‘uloa housing areas. ·A number of residents who live in that community rely on the city bus as their primary mode of transportation and they would have been impacted if the route was discontinued. Taking care of our sailors and their families is a number one priority, and we will continue to address their needs."
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