Kaimuki traffic light OK'd

By James Gonser
Advertiser Urban Honolulu Writer

To reduce speeding and make a dangerous road safer for schoolchildren to cross, the city will install a traffic light at the intersection of Kilauea and 18th avenues in Kaimuki.

Kilauea Avenue is notorious for speeding, and police have held several anti-speeding campaigns with residents holding signs and police using radar gear to ticket offenders.

Kilauea, along with Pahoa and Kaimuki avenues are considered among the worst streets in the area for speeding. With an often ignored 25-mph speed limit, residents have been working to get a signal at the spot for more than two years.

The intersection, which is now a four-way stop, fronts Kaimuki Middle School and Kapi'olani Community College and is heavily used by students and commuters.

Linda Arthur, who lives near the intersection, said with so much traffic and people in a hurry to get to or from work or school, few cars stop completely at the stop signs and pedestrians take their lives in their hands when crossing the street.

"The volume of traffic is very heavy and pedestrians are afraid," Arthur said. "It is very intense in the evenings. No one stops to make sure people are safe."

City transportation director Cheryl Soon said a study was completed recently that showed the intersection warranted a stoplight because of the high volume of traffic. Money for the project is included in the city administration's budget request for fiscal 2003, which begins in July.

Soon estimates the project will cost $20,000 to design and $150,000 to install.

If the money is approved by the City Council, Soon expects the light to be ready within a year.

"We'll see what the council gives us for money and start moving on it in July," Soon said. "I'd say about a year from now is a reasonable estimate."

On average, the city installs five or six new traffic lights a year, Soon said.

"We keep a list of all warranted signals and do them more or less in the order they come in," she said.

Kaimuki Middle School principal Frank Fernandes said the new lights will make it safer for students to cross the street.

"Middle and high school students are expected to be able to cross a street safely, but the traffic lights will be welcome," Fernandes said. "I support the move. The growing population at the community college has had some effect on the volume and flow of traffic."

Reach James Gonser at jgonser@honoluluadvertiser.com or 535-2431.