DRIVE TIME
Safety effort moves to North King Street
By Mike Leidemann
Advertiser Transportation Writer
Honolulu's Hot Spots pedestrian safety program is coming to Ka'iulani Elementary School this week.
Police, teachers, business leaders and parents will join Thursday to teach students at the North King Street school how to take a proactive, cautious approach to street safety.
Information to help you get around O'ahu: • TheBus: For schedules and other information, call 848-5555 or visit www.thebus.org. • Vanpool Hawai'i: 596-8267 • Trafficam: Check out traffic conditions at more than 20 major intersections around Honolulu. • Road work:
Then they'll all get together between 1:30 and 2:45 p.m. in a sign-waving effort to get drivers to slow down. Police will be on hand to ticket drivers who don't get the message.
Commuting
The "Hot Spots" effort is sponsored by AIG Hawai'i, one of the state's biggest auto insurance companies, which is worried about the increasing number of serious accidents caused by speeding.
The program started in November with a similar effort at Dole Intermediate School in Kalihi, then moved to Aliamanu Elementary and Intermediate schools and several other campuses, where more than 200 people have taken part in the different safety awareness campaigns.
For more information, contact the AIG Hawai'i Community Relations Department at 544-3930.
Share your views
If you have some thoughts about how the state could improve its transportation efforts, now is the time to voice them.
The state this week is launching a series of public meetings on proposed amendments to its Statewide Transportation Improvement Program, which establishes priorities for projects using federal money.
The Neighbor Island schedule:
- Thursday, Kaua'i State Office Building, 3060 Eiwa St., Lihu'e.
- May 27, Kealakehe High School cafeteria, 74-5000 Puohulihuli St., Kailua, Kona.
- May 28, Hilo State Office Building, 75 Aupuni St., Hilo.
- May 29, state Highways Division Maui Office, 650 Palapala Drive, Kahului.
All the meetings begin at 7 p.m. Copies of the plan's draft amendment are available by calling 587-1830 or on the Internet, www.state.hi.us/dot/stp/stip.
Traffic near Tripler
Tripler Army Medical Center is warning drivers about a new sewer line replacement project that could delay traffic in the area.
The work begins this week on streets near Tripler and is expected to last until December. Lanes will be closed during the day, and there will be fewer parking spaces in some areas. Officials say Tripler employees and visitors should allow extra time to get to the hospital and use extra caution around excavation areas and heavy equipment.
Traffic cameras
Traffic cameras just can't stay out of the news.
A Los Angeles judge last week ordered the county to refund around $500,000 in traffic fines issued to motorists photographed by a red-light camera that was a half-second off.
The ruling vacated 2,014 traffic convictions involving the intersection in East Los Angeles. The problem was discovered after an activist opposed to red-light cameras complained to the California Highway Patrol that the yellow light was not meeting state standards for length.
The county plans to reimburse motorists for the fines, which were $271 before Jan. 1 and $321 afterward.
A bill to authorize the use of red-light cameras in Hawai'i died at the Legislature this year.
Mike Leidemann's Drive Time column appears every Tuesday. Reach him at 525-5460 or mleidemann@honoluluadvertiser.com.
