Posted on: Thursday, April 21, 2005
Crosswalk to stay there
Advertiser Staff
Mayor Mufi Hannemann has decided to not eliminate a busy crosswalk in downtown Honolulu after a petition with more than 1,300 signatures opposing the change was presented to him Tuesday.
The city plan to rework traffic patterns would have saved about 25 seconds for drivers turning left from Bishop to South King because they wouldn't have to wait for people crossing the street. But the change would have forced pedestrians to cross streets three times to get from the bank to the park. That could take at least three minutes, Mollring said.
The Downtown Neighborhood Board voted to oppose the closure earlier this month.
City spokesman Bill Brennan said the mayor listened to the community and spoke with traffic planners.
"He listened to both sides and made the decision that it would be better to leave it," Brennan said.
Brennan said the city still is likely to eliminate another crosswalk at Punchbowl and South King streets, between Honolulu Hale and Kawaiaha'o Church, to help motorists move more quickly through the area.
Downtown resident Dolores Mollring and about 20 Honolulu Waldorf School students held signs and collected signatures Monday opposing a city plan to close the sidewalk at Bishop and South King streets between Tamarind Park and First Hawaiian Bank.
