Residents complain rumble strips are noisy

By Suzanne Roig
Advertiser East Honolulu Writer

HAWAI'I KAI — The city was trying to slow traffic when it installed rumble strips on busy Hawai'i Kai Drive in early September, and while speed is down, complaints about noise are up.

The noise of cars going over the rumble strip is so bad that some residents in the Kamehame Ridge community, which is closest to the strip, have to sleep on the side of the house away from the street.

"It's a rumble noise, and if you have a lot of traffic it can be noisy," acknowledged Cheryl Soon, city Director of Transportation Services. "What we'll do is take out some of the bumps and see if that still sparks noise complaints."

But Kamehame Ridge residents want the city to go further. After making numerous complaints to the community association, they plan to

attend tonight's Hawai'i Kai Neighborhood Board meeting to ask for community support to remove the rumble strips, said resident Margo Davis. The board will meet at 7 p.m. at Haha'ione Elementary School.

Traffic calming has come under fire in recent months in some communities as residents adapt to new patterns. At one recent community meeting, a resident came all the way from Kahalu'u to voice his opposition to traffic calming. And residents in Kailua have complained about bulb-outs and medians installed on Kihapai Street.

The city installed the rumble strip on Hawai'i Kai Drive near Maunanani Street in response to complaints by residents at a community traffic forum last year that drivers were speeding downhill toward Kamiloiki Elementary School, Soon said.

Residents were warned of the noise, she said.

The city also installed pedestrian warning signs and plans to paint a crosswalk after the first of the year, Soon said.

The community has been concerned about pedestrian safety since a traffic accident left a tourist critically injured early last year.

But traffic-calming measures aren't always favorably received.

At a recent Kahala Neighborhood Board meeting, Kahalu'u resident George Morantz used the phrase "traffic obstructions" to refer to some of the traffic-calming measures the city has installed.

"What I'm strongly against is traffic obstruction," Morantz said. "You have a small group of people (speeders) who are a problem, and we are penalizing everyone. Since traffic calming has gone in in many communities there has been a significant amount of dissatisfaction."

Reach Suzanne Roig at sroig@honoluluadvertiser.com or 395-8831.