DRIVE TIME
Trash haulers willingly add stretch of freeway to their jobs
By Mike Leidemann
Advertiser Transportation Writer
City officials are joining with local businesses to clean up a 6-mile stretch of H-1 Freeway from Kunia Road to the Waimanalo Gulch Landfill in Nanakuli. Island refuse companies that use the highway every day are taking the lead.
Last month, workers from at least five local refuse haulers, plus the city's Refuse Division, were out early on a Saturday morning to kick off the cleanup campaign.
The high number of trucks in the area, combined with limited state resources for road maintenance, contributed to the litter buildup on the section of road that no other civic group had stepped forward to adopt.
"Our employees, many of whom live in the Leeward area, readily donated their time," said Linda Henriques, vice president of Rolloffs Hawaii. "Our trucks and drivers are on this roadway daily. We know the problem, and it was an opportunity to be part of the solution."
Information to help you get around O'ahu: • TheBus: For schedules and other information, call 848-5555 or visit www.thebus.org. • Vanpool Hawai'i: 596-8267 • Trafficam: Check out traffic conditions at more than 20 major intersections around Honolulu. • Road work:
Other companies participating in the effort include Horizon Waste, Island Demo, NCNS and Pacific Waste (GMI). They'll be out on a regular basis patrolling the roadside for litter.
Commuting
Meanwhile, Waste Management, operator of the Waimanalo Gulch center, has committed to making daily patrols of the roads within two miles of the landfill, as well as participating in the cleanups.
City officials acknowledge a continuing need for disposal and recycling facilities on O'ahu, and say the new Adopt-a-Highway Hauler Coalition partnership is one way to minimize the impact those facilities have on surrounding communities.
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Times Supermarkets have been added to the list of places where you can buy monthly passes for the city bus service. The passes are available at all 12 O'ahu locations.
Passes cost $27 and are valid for unlimited travel. Youth passes (for teens and children) are $13.50.
Passes also are sold at satellite city halls, 7-Eleven stores, the University of Hawai'i Campus Center, Hawai'i Pacific University bookshop, the Chit Chat store at Tamarind Park, Foodland and Star Market.
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Roberts Hawaii, the state's largest privately owned transportation company, is adding 100 school buses to its statewide fleet of more than 1,000 vehicles.
All the new buses will be equipped with two-way radios; most will have wheelchair lifts; and some will be air-conditioned.
Mike Leidemann's Drive Time column runs Tuesdays. Reach him at 525-5460 or mleidemann@honoluluadvertiser.com.
