Posted on: Friday, April 4, 2003
'Aiea, Pearl City residents leery of traffic projects
By Catherine E. Toth
Advertiser Central O'ahu Writer
PEARL CITY — Word that work will begin in September on the $69 million widening of H-1 at the Waimalu viaduct — one of O'ahu's worst bottlenecks — did little to ease the traffic concerns of 'Aiea and Pearl City residents at a transportation forum this week.
Many residents who have been dealing with mounting traffic congestion in their neighborhoods for years weren't satisfied with projects the city and state discussed at the meeting, wanting more immediate relief.
"When I moved out here it was still 'country,' " said Kathy Ebey, 56, a longtime resident of Newtown. "Now it's become a disaster area."
The project to widen 1.25 miles of H-1 from five to six lanes in the 'Ewa-bound direction from the Waimalu viaduct to the Pearl City off-ramp will take about 18 months, said Ron Tsuzuki, program manager for the state Department of Transportation's planning branch. The widening project was initially slated to begin this month.
Work will be done at night and on weekends with noise walls to minimize sound.
An estimated 220,000 vehicles use the roadway every day.
The state expects partial closures to H-1 in both directions, including full closure of the Pearl City off-ramp and partial closure of Moanalua Road during construction. All freeway lanes, including the Zipper Lane, will be open during rush hour.
Residents were concerned that construction will aggravate traffic congestion, noting the 1998 widening of H-1 from the Halawa Heights Road overpass to the Kaonohi Street overpass that caused headaches for motorists. The $50.5 million project took two years to complete.
"The last time work was done ... it disrupted traffic in 'Aiea and Pearl City a lot," said Claire Tamamoto, a longtime 'Aiea resident and head of the 'Aiea Community Association. "Traffic was backed up in the neighborhood."
She wants the state to put up signs, coordinate traffic lights and have police on hand to direct traffic.
"We hopefully learned something from the previous project (in 1998)," Tsuzuki said. "We are definitely going to make sure information gets to the public."
The DOT also presented updates on traffic improvements and beautification to Kamehameha Highway, a two-lane second access to Leeward Community College, a $1.5 million project to extend the contraflow lane along Nimitz Highway from the Ke'ehi Interchange/Middle Street to Pier 32, and a $4 million extension of the Zipper Lane in the morning from the Pearl Harbor Interchange to the Ke'ehi Interchange.
The city also presented its traffic improvement plans, focusing on its new hub-and-spoke bus route system that marries neighborhood circulator lines with express service to town.
Buses will circulate along neighborhood routes. Transit centers will be built in various high-volume areas, such as Kalihi, Manoa and Kaimuki. These hubs will include shelter, restrooms, newspaper stands and vending machines.
The city hopes to build transit centers in 'Aiea, Pearl City and at Aloha Stadium.
"The whole goal is to provide the kind of transportation services you need to get around," said Paul Steffens, the city's public transit division chief. "We want to make them gathering points for the community."
But some residents weren't convinced that improving the city bus system will alleviate traffic on highways and along neighborhood streets.
"I don't care what you add, you won't take cars off the road," said Larry Lamberth, 56, tax accountant and longtime 'Aiea resident. "People are in love with their cars. They're not going to go away."
Lamberth suggested the city look into constructing separate, fixed roadways specific to buses or other forms of mass transit. Taking away lanes from vehicles will only congest the roads more, he argued.
"The problem is taking existing traffic lanes away from cars that will always be there," Lamberth said.
