Kahala going foot-friendly
By Suzanne Roig
Advertiser East Honolulu Writer
KAHALA — A study of traffic problems in this community found that the best way to slow the vehicles is to build oval medians on Keala'olu Avenue, a raised intersection table near Kahala Elementary School and a mini-roundabout on Moho and Makaiwa streets.
Those are the suggestions of experts at Walkable Communities Inc., a nonprofit corporation based in Florida intended to help cities become more walkable and pedestrian friendly. Members of the community, the Wai'alae Kahala Neighborhood Board and the Kahala Citizens Traffic Committee supported the recommendations.
"It's a great study," said Richard Turbin, neighborhood board chairman. "It's comprehensive and answered a lot of questions."
The consultants recommended that top priority be placed on installation of a 5-foot-wide sidewalk on the residential side of Keala'olu Avenue and two oval medians at the intersections with Moho Street and Farmers Road. The medians would reduce speeding, and the sidewalk would improve safety for runners and walkers, while cyclists could continue to travel the heavily used path on the Waialae Golf Course side of the road.
The study, which cost the city $30,000, also recommends:
• Acquire the land at the Aloha gas station to access Keala'olu Avenue from Waia'lae Avenue, to open up the road to both directions of traffic. Currently the section by the gas station is one-way only. This should be done in concert with other traffic-calming efforts on Keala'olu Avenue, the report said.
• Install a bulb-out at the parking lot entrance at Waia'lae Beach Park to discourage illegal parking along Kahala Avenue and improve visibility for drivers.
• Extend the medians and curbs at Kahala and Keala'olu avenues to encourage more moderate speeds and to prevent large or fast-moving vehicles from crossing the center line while turning at this busy intersection. Other areas to be targeted with this method are Pueo and Moa streets because they are so close to Kahala Elementary School.
• Place a roundabout on Farmers Road, which is a very wide, straight road that encourages speeding. The roundabout should be placed at Pueo Street, which has enough room to accommodate a landscaped roundabout.
• Raise the roadway with an intersection table at Pahoa Avenue and Moho Street to keep motorists at a reasonable speed, especially because it is near the school and community park.
• Prevent motorists from taking short-cuts through the community by building a mini-roundabout at the corner of Makaiwa and Moho streets, which would slow down motorists while keeping the flow of traffic moving.
The next step is for the traffic committee to meet with the area's city councilman, Duke Bainum, to pick two projects to be funded.
Money has been set aside from last year and possibly from this year's budget, which is now being decided, to fund traffic-calming projects around the island, said John White, Bainum's legislative assistant.
In 2001, the city appropriated $12.9 million for traffic-calming measures around the island.
And more than $3 million is being considered for traffic calming in this year's budget, which is up for review now.
George Lissandrello, who chairs the Kahala Citizens Traffic Committee, believed that the report will be acted upon shortly after a meeting with the councilman and then a recommendation will be forwarded to the neighborhood board for approval. The only unknown is that the group has no cost estimates for each of these proposals.
"Whatever two projects are implemented, that will be the first step and then the others will go," Lissandrello said. "I'm quite happy with the progress that's been made."
Reach Suzanne Roig at sroig@honoluluadvertiser.com or 395-8831.
