Hawai'i Kai road 'unsafe'
By Suzanne Roig
Advertiser East Honolulu Bureau
HAWAI'I KAI — Residents of Kamehame Ridge have renewed their push for improved pedestrian safety after a traffic accident that left a tourist critically injured.
In January, an Australian visitor got off a bus and was crossing Hawai'i Kai Drive at Kamehame Ridge when a car struck her in an accident that police said was caused by the driver's inattention.
Public meeting
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City transportation officials will be at the Hawai'i Kai Neighborhood Board meeting at 7 p.m. tomorrow at the Haha'ione Elementary School cafeteria to talk about transportation issues.
The woman later recovered from her injuries.
It is this crossing at the top of a busy four-lane road at the crest of a hill that has the residents and 80 members of the Kamehame Ridge Estates Association concerned.
"There's a bus stop at the entrance, no crosswalk and no signs," said Roger Davis, a Kamehame Ridge resident and board member. "Sometimes there's a lot of traffic on that road, and everyone speeds."
The residents have written letters asking the city to install a pedestrian-activated light. But city transportation officials don't believe a light is needed.
Detailed accident statistics for the site were not available. Honolulu Police Lt. Abner DeLima said that from time to time there are accidents on Hawai'i Kai Drive, but not many involve pedestrians.
The city has agreed to post warning signs alerting motorists that pedestrians may be crossing the road.
The area is not the only one of concern for residents, who have complained about the light sequence at the intersection of Hawai'i Kai Drive and Lunalilo Home Road and the left turn into the Hawai'i Kai Shopping Center on Keahole Street.
But it's Hawai'i Kai Drive at Kamehame Ridge that worries residents most.
A speed limit sign and a small bus stop sign are posted along the side of the road, Davis said. But since the bus stop is before Maunanani Street, the main road into the subdivision, pedestrians tend to walk diagonally from the bus stop, he said.
"It's just a dangerous place to cross the street," Davis said.
Charlie Rodgers, Hawai'i Kai Neighborhood Board chairman, said the area is a problem for pedestrians because when motorists crest the top of the hill, the last thing they're thinking about is pedestrians.
"I don't think it's safe at all," Rodgers said. "But I guess the city can't solve all the transportation problems."
