Posted on: Monday, June 3, 2002

EDITORIAL
Keep the torch run off the Pali Highway

It's not that we don't value the Troy Barboza Law Enforcement Torch Run. The annual event, which honors a police officer who was killed in the line of duty, draws athletes from all branches of law enforcement and has raised more than $1 million for Special Olympics Hawai'i.

But we see no good reason why the race should have to bog down the Pali Highway during a weekday morning commute. At the very least, drivers might have been warned.

Thursday morning, the run snarled traffic on the two-lane Honolulu-bound side of the Pali Highway. Motorists were backed up to Kailua as police closed off the right lane used by the runners and their escorts and slowly funneled vehicles into the left lane. Several commuters complained of hour-long delays.

Organizer Nancy Bottelo apologized for the gridlock and welcomes suggestions on how to keep traffic moving during the run. Since the Pali doesn't have a shoulder wide enough to accommodate the runners and their entourage, we suggest the race be kept off the busy Pali unless it's very, very early on a Sunday morning.