Posted on: Thursday, February 21, 2002

EDITORIAL
New Leeward route a welcome relief valve

It's encouraging news that the first leg of what will be an emergency access road for residents of O'ahu's Leeward Coast will soon be up and running.

City Transportation officials say the emergency alternative to the coastal Farrington Highway should be operating within a year between Nanakuli to Ma'ili. Eventually it will extend all the way to Makaha.

It must be remembered, however, that this is a route, not a road or a highway. It is not a second permanent thoroughfare into and out of the Leeward Coast, but rather an emergency patchwork that can be put into use when something closes Farrington, today the only route into and out of the Leeward Coast.

And such closures are far from unusual. A bad traffic accident, a fire or a police incident can shut the road down and leave drivers trapped and steaming in their automobiles.

Most of the time, this adds up to aggravating inconvenience. But it can be worse. Imagine the scene on a gridlocked Farrington with nowhere to turn and a tsunami or hurricane bearing down. At that point, it is a matter of life and limb.

The emergency route is far from a perfect solution to Leeward's transportation woes. It will do nothing for the ongoing problem of speeding and the dangerous mix of pedestrians and cars on Farrington.

Still, it should offer both psychological and real relief to Leeward residents who have had all too little of that in recent years.