Posted on: Thursday, September 9, 2004

Ali'i Drive traffic test aborted

By Christie Wilson
Neighbor Island Editor

Complaints about traffic congestion and lost business moved officials to call an early end to a 90-day test of one-way traffic on busy Ali'i Drive in the Big Island's Kailua village.

The one-way traffic pattern from Ka'ahumanu Place at Kailua Pier to Hualalai Road had been in effect since Aug. 16, closing the mauka lane from 9 a.m. to noon weekdays for freight deliveries in the tourist-oriented town. Normal southbound traffic was allowed to continue in the makai lane.

Aaron Takaba, traffic division chief for the Hawai'i County Public Works Department, said the one-way pattern created a mess at the intersection of Hualalai Road and Kuakini Highway, worsening Kona's bad traffic.

"Traffic was diverted onto a road that couldn't handle the extra cars," he said, so the test was stopped after a little more than two weeks. "I was out there on the first day, and it was backed up all the way," Takaba said.

Marie Aguilar of the Kailua Village Merchants Association said the one-way pattern routed northbound vehicles away from the village and made it tricky for southbound motorists to find parking. Stores that open early lost a significant chunk of morning business during the test, said Aguilar, who owns the Eclectic Craftsman gallery in the Kona Marketplace on Ali'i Drive.

After hearing community concerns last week, public works officials decided to cancel the test, Takaba said.

A lack of loading zones has long been a problem in the village. Bob Elliott, island manager for Anheuser-Busch, estimated that 50 trucks daily vie for a couple of permitted zones. His company alone has approximately 30 accounts on a three- or four-block stretch of Ali'i Drive.

"Trucks would go down there and they couldn't find any place to park, so they'd just be cruising around, adding to the congestion," Elliott said.

Delivery truck drivers got used to pulling up onto the sidewalk to avoid blocking traffic, but concerns about pedestrian safety led police to begin ticketing trucks earlier this year. That's when business leaders decided to push again for county action to resolve the situation, Elliott said.

After a series of meetings, a compromise was struck to allow one-way traffic on Ali'i Drive for a three-hour period.

Some merchants opposed the idea, Aguilar said, but business owners agree on the need for more loading zones — and more parking in general.

Takaba said the narrow two-lane road leaves few options. He said the county is looking at creating an additional loading zone on the northern end of Ali'i Drive toward the sea wall, but that would provide only a small measure of relief, Elliott said.

Reach Christie Wilson at cwilson@honoluluadvertiser.com or (808) 244-4880.