Bus stops to get $1.4 million upgrade
| • | Graphic (opens in new window): Kapolei bus hub |
By Mike Leidemann
Advertiser Transportation Writer
Two of Honolulu's busiest bus stops are getting makeovers at a total cost of $1.4 million.
The stops, in Kapolei and the University of Hawai'i, are being overhauled to accommodate more buses and passengers, city officials said.
The work in Kapolei will be a model for future transit centers that are the focus of the city's new hub-and-spoke bus route system that marries neighborhood circulator lines with express service to town, city officials said.
When complete, the transit center along Kamokila Boulevard at the center of Kapolei's commercial area will be able to hold nine or 10 buses at a time. That will allow passengers on all neighborhood routes to arrive simultaneously and quickly board waiting express buses.
The project will allow Kapolei to become the Leeward community's equivalent of Ala Moana Center's bus row, where many in-town lines link up for transfers.
"It's going to be a crown jewel of our system," said Cheryl Soon, city transportation services director.
The nearly $1 million Kapolei project includes the construction of an off-street loop in which buses can pull into and line up to accommodate transfers, much like what happens in Mainland and European train stations and bus depots. Currently, some transferring passengers in Kapolei have to cross a busy intersection to reach their buses.
Other improvements at the site call for new restrooms (the first ever for a city bus transfer point), water fountains, shelters and landscaping.
The work is scheduled to be completed by June.
Planning and design work is under way on a number of similar transfer centers, including Wai'anae, 'Ewa Beach, Waipahu and Mililani, Soon said. Eventually, the city hopes to convert all the bus routes to a hub-and-spoke system.
At UH, the city is spending $400,000 for improvements to the stop at Sinclair Circle, the end of the line for the CityExpress Route A.
Thousands of students, faculty and visitors use the stop every day, but until now often have had to stand with only the shelter of nearby trees.
The project calls for the construction of three large bus shelters, new walkways and wheelchair ramps. The city also is widening the circular roadway to accommodate larger articulated buses and replacing the existing pavement with reinforced concrete.
New lighting and landscaping also are included in the project, which is scheduled to be finished by May.
