Kapolei crosswalk decision on agenda

By Shayna Coleon
Advertiser Staff Writer

Traffic lights and crosswalks may be on the way near two Kapolei schools where safety has been a concern among parents and educators.

However, the improvements — if they are approved — will take months and maybe as long as a year.

When it meets this month, the board of the Housing and Community Development Corporation of Hawai'i will consider whether signal lights should be installed at two busy intersections near Kapolei Elementary School — at Kama'aha Loop and Kama'aha Avenue.

The board also will decide on a design proposal for crosswalks and signal lights at two intersections on Kapolei Parkway, one of which is in front of Kapolei High School, said Darrell Young, a housing information officer for the agency.

Since the school opened in 2000, students have been crossing Kapolei Parkway without a crosswalk.

Young said both proposals have a good prospect of being accepted by the agency's board at its Aug. 22 meeting.

The agency, which handles homeowner, landscaping, environmental and development issues in communities throughout the state, has worked with the state's Department of Transportation, Department of Education and Department of Transportation Services in planning for installation of the traffic safety features.

"We've been working on this for a couple years now," Young said. "And, you definitely need the lights and crosswalks to slow people down on these roads."

If approved, the installation of signal lights on Kama'aha Avenue and Kama'aha Loop — a $1 million project — could be finished by January, said Young.

However, the planning for the Kapolei Parkway work is in an earlier stage of design development, so Kapolei residents cannot expect the crosswalks and lights until next August, Young said.

Lolita Takeda, a parent of two Kapolei High School students and one Kapolei Elementary student, said there is an immediate need for installation of signal lights and crosswalks at Kapolei Parkway and Kama'aha Avenue.

Takeda said she has been urging officials for almost two years to install signal lights or crosswalks after she saw Kapolei High School students struggle to cross the street with "cars speeding, and not stopping, but driving around the kids."

"After two years of frustration, I'm hopeful about anything," Takeda said. "I'm just hoping that things will happen sooner than later so our kids will be safe before they get hurt or killed."

Other proposed sites of crosswalks in Kapolei include:

• Kaiau Avenue and Bisecting Park

• Kaiau Avenue, Kama'aha Avenue and Keikuilani Loop

• Kama'aha Avenue and Keikuilani Loop

• Kama'aha Avenue and Kealanani Avenue

• Kama'aha Avenue along Kumu Iki subdivision