Ala Wai project to start while Kuhio's still a mess
By James Gonser
Advertiser Urban Honolulu Writer
With road construction on Kuhio Avenue in Waikiki creating delays for drivers and pedestrians, some residents are worried that a new $2.4-million beautification project on Ala Wai Boulevard will only make matters worse when work begins next month.
Andrew Shimabuku • The Honolulu Advertiser
Kuhio has been a nonstop traffic jam with limited turns and blocked access to businesses since work began in January.
Construction crews continue work on Kuhio Avenue. Like the project soon to start along Ala Wai Boulevard, the work is part of Mayor Jeremy Harris' effort to revitalize the three major traffic corridors in Waikiki.
Waikiki resident April Troutman uses the bus for transportation and said it is taking her longer to get around. Construction on another major road will likely only make things worse for drivers, she said.
The Ala Wai work will include new curbside landscaping at intersections with the mauka-makai streets.
Free street parking will remain, but 50 to 60 of the approximately 300 stalls along the road will be eliminated. The city expects a new parking lot at Aloha Drive and Seaside Avenue to nearly make up for the loss.
Ben Lee, city managing director, said the work on Ala Wai Boulevard will be done so that it has the least effect possible on drivers.
"We will coordinate the construction on both Kuhio Avenue and along the Ala Wai to minimize any kind of traffic inconvenience to motorists," Lee said. "We will also stage it during non-peak hours."
Lee said the parking lane is 12 feet wide and parking between the landscaped curbside areas will be reduced to 7 feet wide, leaving five feet for a bicycle lane and preserving the three traffic lanes.
The contractor, Ideal Construction, will work at one intersection at a time closing the parking lane and one traffic lane in the work area. Work will also include modifying the sprinkler system.
"I know the residents are not really happy and the businesses are not really happy with what is going on on Kuhio," said Robert Finley, chairman of the Waikiki Neighborhood Board. "I'm hoping that will be a temporary thing until the construction is done. I thought the Ala Wai work wasn't going to start until Kuhio was done."
Finley said if the work is done in short sections and during the day, it should not be too much of a problem, but closing a traffic lane will slow things down.
Eric Crispin, city director for the Department of Planning and Permitting, will give a presentation on the project at the Waikiki Neighborhood Board meeting Tuesday night.
The $19-million sidewalk-widening and beautification project on Kuhio Avenue is the second phase of Mayor Jeremy Harris' plan to revitalize the three major traffic corridors in Waikiki before he leaves office in December. The city has spent about $50 million to renovate Kalakaua Avenue since 1997.
The Kuhio project is expected to be completed in November or December and includes new Bus Rapid Transit stations, a landscaped median, public benches, redesigned traffic lanes and street lighting.
WHO: Eric Crispin, city director for the Department of Planning and Permitting. WHAT: Details of plans for a beautification project on Ala Wai Boulevard expected to begin next month. WHEN: 7 p.m. Tuesday WHERE: Waikiki Community Center, 310 Paoakalani Ave.
Troutman, the Waikiki resident who frequently takes the bus, is not sure if all the money and inconvenience is worth it.
Meeting Tuesday
"It probably will look nicer," she said. "Significantly nicer, I'm not sure."
Sidewalks on the mauka side of Kuhio Avenue are now torn up and pedestrians must walk around open pits and tractors to make their way down the busy street.
Maryland residents Lindsey Webb, 17, and Tiffany Ewing, 16, took the construction work in stride yesterday.
"Our school just had four years of renovation so we are used to it," Webb said.
Finley said the city has scaled back the number of public events and parades in Waikiki during construction.
Lee said the road projects evolved from the Waikiki Livable Community Project, a comprehensive study intended as a reference for revitalizing Waikiki and making it a better place for people who live there. The project took more than two years of work, including hundreds of hours collecting and analyzing data, and dozens of public meetings.
"The trees along the makai streets, along the Ala Wai canal and improvements to Kuhio Avenue establishes a stronger residential feeling," Lee said. "People said there were too many cars, it always looks crowded; too many high-rises, it looks like a concrete jungle. It's going to be great in terms of having Kuhio Avenue become another pedestrian environment and enhancing the Ala Wai."
Reach James Gonser at jgonser@honoluluadvertiser.com.
