'Aiea, Pearl City plan offered
By Catherine E. Toth
Advertiser Staff Writer
In 'Aiea and Pearl City, where traffic is a primary concern, the area's Liveable Communities Plan may offer solutions.
The plan includes changes such as roadway improvements and bicycle paths.
It proposes the creation of town districts for 'Aiea and Pearl City, mauka-makai connections to the Pearl Harbor shoreline and landscape concepts for major roadways as a way to calm traffic and revitalize the neighborhood.
The plan, sponsored by the 'AieaiPearl City Vision Group in conjunction with the Department of Planning and Permitting and the Department of Transportation Services, will be presented to the public at 7 p.m. Nov. 20 at Pearl Ridge Elementary School.
The cost has not been determined. The plan incorporates short-, mid- and long-term projects that focus mostly on alleviating traffic congestion. Coming up with solutions to the traffic problem was the biggest challenge for planners.
"You have that major highway (Kamehameha Highway) running through town. How to you handle that?" said Loretta Chee, acting director of the Department of Planning and Permitting. "How do you integrate the industrial and commercial areas with residential?"
The community is still waiting for improvements to Kamehameha Highway, a project that received $750,000 from the Legislature in March but has been put on hold as the state searches for a consultant to pore over more than 100 suggestions from residents and lawmakers about improving the highway from the H-1 viaduct in 'Aiea to Pearl City Industrial Park.
The DOT is expected to meet with the community about the project by the end of the year.
Residents said they wanted traffic and aesthetic improvements to the stretch of the highway that is lined with tourist attractions such as Aloha Stadium and the Arizona Memorial.
"Right up and down the highway, it's just ugly," said Rep. K. Mark Takai, D-34th (Waimalu, Newtown, Pearl City). "But what's driving the project isn't just beautification. It's really the traffic flow and improvement."
He expects some improvements, such as restriping lanes, won't take too much time or money. Major traffic modifications will.
"Traffic is one of the most important things we have to take care of," said Albert Fukushima, chairman of the Pearl City Neighborhood Board. "Everybody has to pass through our community to get from Central O'ahu to town."
Fukushima said commuters use Kamehameha Highway and other community roadways to bypass traffic on the H-1. "This is why we have traffic problems," he said. "Our roads are overloaded."
He wants the city to look at alternatives, such as widening roads, to alleviate traffic flow in the area.
Governor-elect Linda Lingle's proposal to build a double-decker highway on H-1 from Kapolei to Honolulu might not help 'Aiea and Pearl City residents, who wouldn't be able to get on the "super zipper" because it would not have on- or off-ramps.
"The concept seems OK, but I don't know what it will cost taxpayers," Fukushima said.
A double-decker highway does not deter people from driving, Takai noted. The state should look at ways to get cars off the streets.
"People are just going to buy more cars and fill up the lanes with more vehicles," Takai said. "I don't know the solution to this."
Though it has helped ease traffic on H-1 town-bound, the Zipper Lane hasn't been useful to 'Aiea and Pearl City residents, who can't get on it, he added.
"No matter what, Pearl City and 'Aiea are the brunt of rush-hour traffic to and from town every single day," he said. "People don't realize that the H-1, H-2 and H-3 all meet here. There's a tremendous amount of cars coming through the community every day. It's unbearable."
