Traffic-light installation at Kaiser High to start
By Suzanne Roig
Advertiser East Honolulu Writer
HAWAI'I KAI — Work will begin Monday on a new stop light fronting Kaiser High School that will make the flow of traffic smoother and safer for the school as well as for a new subdivision across the street.
SCD International, developer of The Peninsula residential project, is paying for the $500,000 traffic signal and related utility improvements.
The signal will be installed by November. The entrance to The Peninsula is directly across from the school's entrance, allowing the stop light to serve both.
Kaiser High is along Lunalilo Home Road, a major artery for Hawai'i Kai. In the mornings, cars line up on the four-lane road to make a left turn into the campus, and students often jaywalk crossing the street from a bus stop.
"It's been a concern for us before The Peninsula development was built," Kaiser vice principal Anthony Gayer said. "As Hawai'i Kai has increased in population, the traffic has been increasing, too."
The school has been fortunate that no one has been seriously injured in the morning and afternoon rush hours, Gayer said.
Stanford Carr, SCD International president, said his company had been trying to get the signal installed well before the project was occupied to help ease any traffic snarls resulting from new residents moving in.
"We decided to do it because it's the right thing to do along that road," Carr said. "Our traffic engineers recognized that the roadway has problem."
The Peninsula is about one-third built and about two-thirds sold, Carr said. The 597 residential units include houses, townhomes and a four-story condominium.
The roadway project includes striping a left-turn lane on Lunalilo Home Road for makai-bound cars turning into Kaiser High.
On Monday, crews will begin digging up the driveway at the school entrance to install the electronic sensors that will activate the traffic signal.
The project also entails narrowing the school driveway, restriping the crosswalks and moving the bus stop on the Diamond Head side of Lunalilo Home Road. During construction, the right lane in front of Kaiser will be coned off, but it will not affect the bus stop near the school entrance.
Reach Suzanne Roig at sroig@honoluluadvertiser.com or 395-8831.
