Residents protest roundabout

By James Gonser
Advertiser Urban Honolulu Writer

A group of Salt Lake residents refuses to accept a city decision to place a roundabout in their community and is organizing protests and other actions to stop the project.

A city contractor has been authorized to begin construction of a permanent roundabout at the site tomorrow.

The residents have formed the Salt Lake Citizens Concerned with Transportation and about 20 of them held signs yesterday all around the temporary roundabout at Ala Napunani and Likini streets reading "No roundabout," "Our neighborhood board said no," "$635,000 is too much," and "Stop signs are warranted."

"We live here. We know the traffic," said the group's leader, Ken Thong. "We are going to try to stop it. We are very concerned."

Cheryl Soon, city director of transportation services, told the Aliamanu/Salt Lake/Foster Village Neighborhood Board last month that after considering the improved safety record and all the public comments, she decided to make the roundabout a permanent fixture.

In September, the board voted 5-4 against the permanent roundabout after hearing testimony from dozens of residents, most of them opposed to the project.

Neighborhood board member Howard Shima voted against the roundabout but will not join the protesters because as a board member he feels he represents the entire community and many support the project.

"I'm for (the opposition), but will not be involved except for giving advice," Shima said.

In April, workers set up cones and painted temporary lane markings, reducing busy Ala Napunani Street from two traffic lanes in each direction to one circle lane, slowing cars in the 25-mph zone in an attempt to make it safer for pedestrians to cross.

The demonstration project, which cost about $60,000, was expected to be in place for 90 days, but was extended to allow the effects on traffic to be documented when Moanalua High School is in session.

Soon said before the roundabout there were about 12 accidents a year at the intersection. There has been only one since the temporary roundabout was set up, she said.

"Sometimes decisions get made that have multiple points of view," Soon said. "They (members of the opposition group) are a minority. We fully explained our reasons for moving ahead. They seem to be ducking behind a neighborhood board vote in the face of it being an obvious success and having strong support from school, parents and students.

"Because we heard their concerns we spent extra money doing a demonstration project. It didn't cause all the problems imagined, so we are making it permanent."

Work on the permanent traffic-calming device is expected to take about six months to complete and cost $635,000, she said.

Thong, a retired city transportation worker, said the city did not follow its own procedures when developing traffic calming for a specific intersection, which is to first test out stop signs and then traffic lights to control traffic.

"They did not research it," Thong said. "This is not the place for a roundabout. It goes from six lanes, including the parking lanes, to one. When they developed the high-rises here, the city said they couldn't build any more because the roadway cannot accept the heavy traffic. Now they choke it into one lane."

Thong said his group plans to go back to the neighborhood board and raise the issue again. They have also contacted Mayor Jeremy Harris, who told them to take their concerns to Soon.

"We could take legal action, but are not doing that yet," Thong said.

Soon said she has not heard from the protesters about setting up a meeting and noted that many people support the roundabout. A door-to-door survey conducted by Rep. Glenn Wakai, D-31st (Salt Lake, Tripler) showed that of nearly 400 households surveyed, 241, or 60 percent, supported the roundabout.

"I've had countless numbers of letters asking us to go forward and not listen to the naysayers," Soon said. "These folks are hardy, but they are flying in the faces of what we are hearing from the rest of the community."

Reach James Gonser at jgonser@honoluluadvertiser.com or 535-2431.

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