When public schools start up again in two weeks, scores of kids will walk up and down Kalihi Street daily, dodging cars in places with no sidewalks and sitting at bus stops jammed up against narrow, winding lanes.

Some will even brave a blind S-curve just minutes from Kalihi-Uka and Kalihi elementary schools. With no shoulder or sidewalk, and lanes at times too narrow for two large cars to pass each other, the S-curve has been the site of dozens of accidents over the years, residents say. It's not safe for cars, much less walkers.

Kalihi Street, the main artery in and out of Kalihi Valley, is among dozens of dangerous roadways getting renewed attention from pedestrian advocates, parents and community boards as the new school year approaches.

On July 30, more than 118,000 public school students will flood O'ahu's roadways to return to classes. The Honolulu Police Department's crossing guard system provides some protection for kids, ushering them across crosswalks closest to their schools. But students who walk to school often must cross several streets before they reach that safety zone.

And, some advocates say, many of those students — from Kalihi to McCully to Wai'anae and the North Shore — will be put in harm's way because of poorly designed crosswalks or nonexistent sidewalks.

"It's really a horrific situation," said Rodalyn Brown, president of the AARP-Wai'anae chapter, who organized a walkability conference in her community this year to brainstorm solutions for improving safety for pedestrians. She said more people, including kids, walk in Wai'anae than perhaps any other community — often out of necessity. They walk to the bus stop, to school, to the store.

RESIDENTS WANT ACTION

And many walk along Farrington Highway — the only thoroughfare along the Wai'anae Coast. Two pedestrians have been killed this year walking along Farrington Highway.

"It's a dangerous, dangerous place for our children," she said.

Almost every community has perilous roads — difficult-to-negotiate thoroughfares or side streets with no sidewalks. But more and more, neighborhood people are trying to do something about those trouble spots. And the impending start of the school year has provided more fuel — and support — for their efforts.

Plus, advocates say, there is reason to be worried about kids as they tromp back to classes.

A state Health Department analysis, based on numbers from 2001 to 2005, found that about one-fourth of all pedestrian accidents in the Islands involved schoolchildren ages 5 to 18. In nearly half of those accidents, kids ages 5 to 11 years old were hit.

The data, the most recent available, did offer some good news, though: The number of accidents involving elementary schoolchildren declined from 2001 to 2005.

In 2001, there were 80 accidents involving kids ages 5 to 11. In 2005, there were 63.

Those numbers exclude any accidents on driveways, parking lots or in gated communities.

Therese Argoud, walkable communities coordinator for the Health Department, said more and more neighborhoods are trying to raise attention about pedestrian hazards, especially around schools. She helped put together the walkability effort in Wai'anae, along with similar workshops in Kalihi and McCully, which kick-started grass-roots campaigns that are growing.

"People know what's safe and what's not safe," Argoud said.

All the work in communities comes as the issue of walking safety has reached new heights on O'ahu following a spike in pedestrian deaths in 2005, when 28 people died on O'ahu roadways — the highest in at least five years. The number of deaths dropped last year to 20.

But earlier this year, a rash of pedestrian fatalities — 10 in the first 10 weeks of 2007 — raised new alarm. The number of walkers killed on O'ahu this year now stands at 12.

MORE BEING SPENT

City and state officials say more money than ever is being funneled to improving pedestrian signals and crosswalks, from downtown to Wai'anae. Scott Ishikawa, state Transportation Department spokesman, pointed to several projects under way to update crosswalks at busy intersections with countdown signals, which flash large, lighted numbers to let walkers know how much time they have left to get across the street safely.

State officials also are restriping faded crosswalks and painting pedestrian crossing warnings on the pavement along Farrington Highway from Nanakuli to Makaha.

City officials, too, are updating crosswalks with new countdown signals islandwide under a $2 million project announced in April. The mayor has said the city would update 525 signals over the next five years. He also said the city planned to install an illuminated crosswalk in front of the Kalihi-Palama post office as part of a pilot project.

Bill Brennan, city spokesman, said the city is "doing its best to maintain facilities." He pointed out that sidewalks are difficult to install because homeowners are responsible for part of the costs.

"There are many older neighborhoods that predate current subdivision regulations," he said, "and, consequently, lack one or more infrastructure elements."

Meanwhile, residents say more work needs to be done.

In McCully, 12 volunteers have walked dozens of city blocks over the past several months to log safety hazards, from sidewalk to crosswalk concerns. So far, they've found plenty of problems, which they'll take to city officials next month.

For example, several well-used streets — such as Algaroba and Pumehana — lack sidewalks. Children use these roads to walk to nearby schools or the McCully Recreation Center, which is on Pumehana, and walk on the grass or even on the street, if cars are parked on the shoulder, said Ron Lockwood, chairman of the Neighborhood Board.

Lockwood, who is leading the surveying effort, said he is also concerned about a dangerous curve on Philips Street behind Washington Middle School.

The street is too narrow for two lanes, and it forces kids to walk on the road.

Crosswalks up and down King Street and other busy thoroughfares are another headache. At some midblock crosswalks with no pedestrian signals, getting the attention of drivers is difficult, Lockwood said. Lunalilo Elementary School kids often cross South King Street on a crosswalk without a signal.

"It's a bear," Lockwood said, of the crosswalk.

He added that the survey will include recommendations for the city on how to ameliorate walking hazards. "We want to make it safer for our kids," he said.

SIDEWALKS LACKING

Windward O'ahu and North Shore residents are also trying to fix pedestrian safety problems in their communities. Argoud said the next walkability session will be held in Kailua, and meetings in other parts of Windward O'ahu will likely follow.

The biggest worry for many parents on the North Shore is Kamehameha Highway.

Several schools are right on the highway or near the thoroughfare, and kids often walk along Kamehameha to get to the bus stop or to class.

Crossing Kamehameha can be dangerous, and long sections of the highway have no sidewalks.

"The stretch has had its share of tragedies," said Greg Knudsen, state Department of Education spokesman.

In Kalihi, there are plenty of road concerns facing parents as they send their kids off to school. From Palama to Kalihi Valley, kids walk to school on roadways with no sidewalks, or they cross streets without pedestrian lights.

Jan Harada, interim executive director of Palama Settlement, pinpointed several problem streets during a walkability workshop with the neighborhood. Some concerns from parents include a crosswalk on Liliha Street in front of Mayor Wright Homes, where kids cross lanes of traffic without a signal.

And on a myriad of roads, including Palama Street, kids walk on the road because cars or trash block makeshift sidewalks — usually ruts in the grass.

Harada said community groups have been trying to get funding for pedestrian improvements, but have so far had little luck. "There's always a concern every day when kids are walking to school," she said. "There are definite concerns for the safety of the kids all around the area."

One big point of contention for the neighborhood is Kalihi Street. Residents have been trying for years to improve pedestrian safety along the thoroughfare, which feeds subdivisions throughout Kalihi Valley.

They recently took up the issue again, citing the increasing number of families moving into the community, many with school-age children who walk to campuses in the neighborhood.

Bill Woods, chairman of the Kalihi Valley Neighborhood Board, said the biggest concern is the blind S-curve near 3095 Kalihi St. He said at least 200 kids live on the other side of the S-curve, and many walk on the street to get to bus stops or home from school. When cars drive by, they either drive into the other lane or force pedestrians to squeeze onto a thin shoulder.

The city recently installed guardrails on the curve to stop cars from going into a stream.

But the neighborhood is still trying to convince the city to make bigger improvements to the roadway. Meanwhile, the city says it is reviewing a 1999 study of Kalihi Street, which was never acted on. The report, prepared for the city Department of Design and Construction, offered the city recommendations for making the S-curve safer.

MORE STUDIES

City officials say they may have to commission a new report on the S-curve. Meanwhile, there are no plans to add sidewalks or other improvements on Kalihi Street.

Kathryn Yoshida, principal of Kalihi-Uka Elementary School, said the road is a cause for concern. "Our teachers do conduct lessons in crosswalk safety," she said. "We are concerned about the safety of the children."

She also said it's important the community continue to work with the city and state to make pedestrian improvements.

The Rev. Mel Morishige, who grew up in Kalihi Valley and is now at the Honolulu Church of Light on Kalihi Street, added that residents — especially parents — are frustrated at the lack of infrastructure in the community.

"I see kids walking up and down the street all the time," he said, sitting at a desk in the church that faces the road. "With no sidewalks, it is dangerous."

Reach Mary Vorsino at mvorsino@honoluluadvertiser.com.