DRIVE TIME
Whatever road's name, 'Ewa anger over light remains same
By Mike Leidemann
Advertiser Transportation Writer
State Sen. Cal Kawamoto wants to make one thing perfectly clear about that controversial traffic signal he wants installed: It's on Kunia Road, not Fort Weaver Road.
For Kawamoto, it's no small distinction, even though the one road blends right into the next and most drivers don't notice the difference, just the way most people think the Pali Highway goes all the way to Kailua, when in fact it ends at Castle Junction (which isn't at Castle Hospital, either).
The traffic signal the state plans to install at Honowai Street is meant to serve the Waipahu community that Kawamoto represents, but has drawn the ire of 'Ewa commuters who say it will add to their commuting miseries, which are among the worst in the state.
Those commuters don't know the history of the roads in the area — and that makes all the difference to who is right in this dispute, says Kawamoto, D-18th (Waipahu, Crestview, Pearl City).
"Kunia Road was originally built for Waipahu," he said of the road that runs from Wahiawa to Farrington Highway. "We still need to use it."
Years ago, however, Kunia Road was linked to Fort Weaver Road, creating one continuous corridor from 'Ewa Beach to H-1.
Over time, the corridor has become so crowded that Waipahu residents can't safely use Honowai Street to get out of their neighborhood and head north or west.
The way Kawamoto sees things, Waipahu residents for years have been sacrificing their safety and convenience to help those commuters in 'Ewa, which has grown from a quiet plantation and bedroom community to one of the fast-growing housing areas on O'ahu.
"We've been cooperating with them all along, now we're asking a little cooperation in return," said Kawamoto, who gave an impassioned and sometimes angry presentation on the history of the road to the 'Ewa Beach Neighborhood Board last week, which listened politely then summarily rejected his arguments, voting 11-1 to oppose the new traffic light at Honowai Street.
Nevertheless, the state Transportation Department is going ahead with plans to install the traffic light, saying that safety is its primary concern.
That's going to please some Waipahu residents, and it's going to really upset a lot of 'Ewa residents, some of whom are saying that if the traffic light goes in, they're ready to take their fight directly to Gov. Linda Lingle and maybe into the street, if necessary.
You can understand where they're coming from: They're frustrated by a planning system that has allowed their communities to grow exponentially without first putting in the proper infrastructure, creating traffic problems of nightmarish proportions.
That, they say, is the modern-day reality. They don't care what the area's history is and they don't care what the street is called — as long it gets them where they're going without any more delays.
