'Ewa optimistic on traffic
By Scott Ishikawa
Advertiser Central O'ahu Writer
'EWA — Satisfied that nearly all the parties responsible for dealing with the area's traffic woes are now on the same page, the 'Ewa Neighborhood Board has reversed its position and no longer wants the city to declare a construction moratorium on development here.
The neighborhood board at its meeting last Thursday voted unanimously to rescind its moratorium request. Board members voted for the moratorium in October as a way of sending a message to the city, state and area developers — those responsible for building a second main accessway called "the north-south road" — that residents were becoming tired of construction delays. Work on the state's north-south road has been pushed back for years and is now tentatively set to begin in 2004 and be completed in 2006 or 2007, depending on financing.
"I think we made our point," said 'Ewa board chairman Jeff Alexander. "We took a stand because we wanted all parties to sit down and provide us a timeline to help fix this traffic mess."
'Ewa's population has doubled in the past 10 years with newer residential subdivisions being built, but the community still has only one major access, Fort Weaver Road.
City Councilman John DeSoto, whose office helped bring all sides together, said all parties except the state Department of Transportation will sign a "good neighbor" contract and commit to a construction timeline.
Transportation officials told the board they could not guarantee the north-south road's completion date since federal highway construction money has yet to be committed to the project, which is expected to cost more than $100 million.
The board, which serves as an advisory group, voted 5-2 with one abstention in October in favor of a moratorium on construction. But the proposal stirred heated debate in the community, and concern among construction industry workers hired to build area residential subdivisions who feared that it could cost them their jobs.
The state's north-south road, which would provide a backdoor route from 'Ewa to the H-1 Freeway, needs to be connected with a series of sections of Kapolei Parkway by the city, developers Gentry Homes and Haseko and the state Housing and Community Development Corporation of Hawai'i to create one continuous route.
The 'Ewa board will be updated every three months on each party's progress, DeSoto said.
"I think the board did a great job in getting everyone together," DeSoto said. "A lack of communication frustrates everyone."
DeSoto added he is glad some sort of resolution was reached because a moratorium would have meant "no development, which means no roads being built."
'Ewa board member Tesha Malama, who sat in with the parties involved, praised the developers for moving up their construction timetable by a year on their sections of Kapolei Parkway. Most of the developers' sections should be completed by 2005. That would put pressure on the state to finish its north-south road around that time, Malama said.
"We would like to thank Gentry and Haseko for coming up to the plate on this issue," Malama said. "Now we have to keep the state's feet to the fire on this."
Reach Scott Ishikawa at sishikawa@honoluluadvertiser.com or 535-2429.
