'Ewa Villages roads may get lower limit
By Scott Ishikawa
Advertiser Central O'ahu Writer
'EWA VILLAGES — At a time when traffic cameras have made speed the talk of the town, one tiny O'ahu community wants to lower the limit on almost all its streets to 15 mph in the name of safety.
Deborah Booker • The Honolulu Advertiser
A City Council bill that would reduce speed limits in nearly all of 'Ewa Villages from 25 mph to 15 faces a final vote today. With the exception of Renton Road — the main access through 'Ewa Villages — the bill would affect all 52 streets in Renton, Tenney and Varona Villages. And although the bill appears to have wide support here, some residents think it goes too far.
Jacob Ranit, 4, plays basketball on Pa'aniana Street. Because of the narrow streets, residents of 'Ewa Villages are considering lowering the speed limit to 15 mph.
City Councilman John DeSoto, who introduced the measure, said he couldn't recall another request to lower the speed limit of an entire community.
DeSoto said the proposal is an amendment to a bill that would have lowered speeds on all O'ahu cul-de-sacs to 15 mph.
"We scrapped the island-wide cul-de-sac idea because it was getting some opposition," DeSoto said. "But because the roads in 'Ewa Villages are so narrow, residents have asked that speed limits there be brought down."
This community of about 4,700 people retains its sugar-era flavor, from its plantation-style homes to its narrow streets. And lowering the speed limit would bring back one more vestige of the town's sugar mill days: The speed limit was 5 to 15 mph when 'Ewa Villages was owned by the 'Ewa Sugar and O'ahu Sugar companies, said resident and area neighborhood board vice chairman Gary Bautista. The standard speed limit was raised to 25 mph when the city took over the community in the late 1980s.
Nearly all of the two-lane community roads are barely 20 feet wide, with no room for sidewalks. That's compared with the average road width of 22 to 24 feet in other O'ahu communities, with an additional four to six feet on either side for walkways. And while the narrow streets contribute to the residential community's quaint feel, residents say it leaves little room for error for drivers.
"You have kids riding around on skateboards and scooters when the cars come zooming by," said area resident Arsenio Rarangol. "They might as well make it 15 mph, because everyone drives slightly over the speed limit anyway."
Parking is another problem. Bautista said many residents park their cars on both sides of the narrow streets, making it difficult for drivers to see children running across.
Lifetime 'Ewa Villages resident Louis Maria said a lack of play areas has many children playing basketball in the streets using portable hoop sets.
Deborah Booker • The Honolulu Advertiser
However, others, such as 'Ewa resident Richard Perry, think that lowering speed limits communitywide is going overboard. He suggests reducing the speed limit near 'Ewa Elementary to 15 mph during class hours, and placing speed bumps along Park Row to slow drivers leaving the city's 'Ewa Villages Golf Course.
Residents park on both sides of the street in 'Ewa Villages, and some residents say the lowered visibility requires lower speed limits.
"If they brought it down to 20 mph in some places, that would be OK, but 15 is a little too low," Perry said.
"Fifteen?" said 23-year-old Daniel Lopez, cruising around in his Honda Civic. "That's like your big toe barely pressing the gas pedal."
