State officials weighing issue of speed vs. safety

By Mike Leidemann
Advertiser Transportation Writer

What's it going to be, Hawai'i: Speed or safety?

The city installed a variety of traffic-calming devices in Kailua, such as this island on Kihapai Street where Kaipii Street starts. While traffic safety tends to be a top concern for residents, drivers often find such efforts inconvenient. Gregory Yamamoto • The Honolulu Advertiser

So far, there's little sign of that happening.

Elected officials say increasing safety on Hawai'i roadways is one of the top concerns they hear from voters.

At least three times in recent years, however, major and expensive efforts to promote traffic safety have been abruptly halted or curtailed because of complaints from drivers who still value speed and convenience over reducing injuries and saving lives:

• Last year, lawmakers shut down a million-dollar state program that used traffic cameras to catch speeders because of widespread complaints about the way the program was administered.
• The city administration spent millions of dollars in the past two years to install traffic-calming devices in residential areas throughout Honolulu, only to have the City Council, listening to complaints, impose a moratorium on new projects.
• Most recently, state officials had to modify new rumble strips on the Pali Highway after just one day of operation. The strips were installed at the request of Nu'uanu residents, but quickly lowered when drivers heading through the neighborhood voiced their protest to the Transportation Department and the governor's office.

"It's tough," said Sen. Cal Kawamoto, a strong proponent of traffic-safety measures. "You're trying to do something people say they want, then you get it shot down right away. What the heck?"

There's little doubt Hawai'i has a traffic-safety problem. In recent years, traffic fatalities have averaged more than 100 statewide. A new report says Hawai'i is the fifth worst in the country when it comes to protecting pedestrians. From Hawai'i Kai to Nanakuli, residents have besieged elected officials with pleas to slow traffic, especially in residential neighborhoods and where unobstructed highways facilitate faster speeds.

Balance on issues needed

Road projects such as this raised curb in Kailua can slow down cars and help pedestrians cross the street. Gregory Yamamoto • The Honolulu Advertiser

"In a lot of places here you can't step off the curb without worrying about getting creamed," she said. "Even when you've got the right-of-way, drivers just keep coming and then shout insults at you."

City and state officials trying to address the problems often are hamstrung by the long time it takes to implement a safety project and the shifting winds of local politics.

"You've got one group of people who want to feel safe where they are, and you've got another group of people who are trying to get somewhere else in an efficient manner," said Kathy Bryant-Hunter, chairwoman of the Neighborhood Board in Kailua, where the dispute between the two sides has flared into heated debate at times. "The problem is figuring out how to balance both needs."

On the one hand, transportation officials say, you've got local residents trying to reclaim their neighborhoods. They want to slow cars so children can play, pedestrians can cross safely and bicyclists can ride without fear. "It's the No.1 thing we hear all the time," Bryant-Hunter said.

On the other hand, thousands of drivers living a rushed existence defend their right to get from here to there in a hurry with few obstacles.

"Motorists often speed between speed bumps just to make up for the time lost while slowing to go over the speed bump," said Panos Prevedouros, a traffic engineering professor at the University of Hawai'i.

The same drivers often are resentful of government spending that does nothing to improve transportation convenience.

"Uncoordinated or improperly timed traffic signals, unrelieved bottlenecks, poor pavement conditions and the like give the impression of an uncaring government," he said. "This, in turn, results in resistance to speed-control techniques that cause inconvenience or tax motorists with stiff penalties."

There are plenty of ways to slow traffic effectively, engineers say. Whether there's a community will to do that is another story.

Most people agree that the much-maligned van cams did reduce speeding. Traffic-calming devices like roundabouts, narrowed streets, pedestrian islands and speed tables all produce their intended results. The half-inch high rumble strips the state installed on the Pali Highway last week cut speeds dramatically — while they were in place.

Praise and complaints

It has been said that motorists often speed between bumps to make up for lost time. Gregory Yamamoto • The Honolulu Advertiser

Drivers claimed traffic cameras invaded their privacy, blurred the line between police and private law enforcement and sometimes created dangerous driving situations. Traffic-calming opponents say they slow the response time of emergency vehicles and result in numerous slow-speed accidents. Rumble strips damage the suspension of expensive vehicles, drivers said.

"The irony is that the traffic-calming devices really do work," Bryant-Hunter said.

On Kihapai Street in Kailua, where the city installed a smorgasbord of traffic-calming devices, traffic from nonresident drivers has been dramatically reduced.

"Did they do what people expected? Yes," Bryant-Hunter said. "Are people satisfied? Maybe. Do they want something else? Maybe. Do we need better communication? Probably."

The problem is a classic case of the Not In My Back Yard syndrome — in reverse. In the traditional NIMBY fight, residents object to the government putting new projects in their area; in this case, it's the residents who want the traffic calming; those just passing through are the ones who fight it.

In addition, engineers and administrators cite the long time it takes to design and implement many traffic-calming projects.

"Sometimes we're looking at a 10-year horizon, maybe more," said Stan Kawaguchi, vice president and area manager for Parsons-Brinckerhoff, a worldwide planning and engineering firm with offices in Hawai'i.

"So you start to work with one group to address their concerns. You make a good-faith effort at outreach to the community and you begin to make some physical improvements and then what happens? All of a sudden another group learns what's going on and complains that you never told them anything."

Even when a project is built, politicians can be quick to pull the plug on it before it can be accepted or show that it's successful.

"The old rule is that you need 90 days to create a habit and 90 days to break one," said Westley Chun, an engineer who worked with the Nu'uanu community for more than two years to come up with the traffic-safety plan that included the rumble strips.

"People need some time to get adjusted to new things," he said. "You've got to let the changes work over time before you make any evaluations. A lot of time, though, the politicians are quick to change. They react to the reaction instead of waiting to see how well things work in the long run."

So what's the answer?

Prevedouros said some engineering solutions can slow traffic without creating a backlash. One of the best would be to narrow lanes, eliminate shoulders and install landscaping and pedestrian railings, all of which would, in effect, trick motorists into thinking they should drive slower.

"Narrower lanes and obstructions subconsciously force drivers to drive at a slower speed," he said. "Reduction of lane width and placement of aesthetically pleasing landscape can have a significant effect on the motorist's perception of safe speed along a roadway."

Others think a more systemic approach is needed.

Key is to educate

LeMoine, the walker who frequently is threatened by cars, worked with a citizens' group in Seattle to educate the public with new signs, newspaper notices and television advertisements. Pedestrian and bicycle accidents dropped sharply, she said.

"Education. That's No. 1. I honestly think most people don't know the rules," she said. "Then you get enforcement from the police. If the drivers still don't get the word then you pick them up and put them in jail."

In fact, traffic planners say more police enforcement of existing laws is one of the best way to slow drivers and reduce accidents. However, enforcement is expensive, irregular and loses its effectiveness as soon as the police presence is removed.

Another success story happened in Oregon, which recently reduced its traffic-accident rates by nearly 40 percent, said Alvin Takeshita, acting head of the state's Traffic Branch, which coordinates safety efforts.

Oregon succeeded by using a plan that touched every level of the community, including residents, politicians, police, the courts, engineers and the media.

"Nothing is going to change here unless you get a total buy-in from the community like that," Takeshita said. "Our system is stuck right now at the point where we need to give it a tune-up. We need a better public involvement process that doesn't pit one group against another. You can't respond emotionally to one accident or two. It can't be any one single thing. You need the whole nine yards."

Slowing down traffic on O'ahu: Methods used and why people complain about them Responding to complaints from citizens, city and state planners have installed numerous "traffic-calming" devices to slow down speeding cars and make the roads safer for pedestrians to cross. The methods have worked but have generated other complaints. Among them:
Greg Taylor • The Honolulu Advertiser	Source: Advertiser research