Officials say center
traffic will be minimal

Buses to the convention center
should be in and out in minutes

By Harold Morse
Star-Bulletin

Get in and out of the convention center driveway in three or four minutes. Space out the buses.

That's basically how officials hope to minimize the traffic around the center at Kalakaua Avenue and Kapiolani Boulevard.

Assurances of shuttle buses moving smoothly in sequence between the new convention center and Waikiki hotels somewhat disarmed skeptics last night who fear traffic jams there.

Dick Shaff, senior vice president of SMG, the firm that will manage the Hawaii Convention Center, showed videos of bus operations at San Francisco's Moscone Center, where he is general manager.

The videos helped sell his idea buses can unload in as quickly as 90 seconds and get in and out of a center driveway in three or four minutes.

A steady flow, similar to regularly scheduled stops of city buses, will be the rule, not scores of buses converging all at once, he said. "It's not the number of attendees that determines how many buses are used, it's the number of routes and the frequency of use."

Community meeting speakers also told about 175 people at the Ala Moana Hotel that only about half of Hawaii-bound convention-goers will actually show up at the convention center.

Spouses and even some professionals in town for an occupational conference will favor other attractions at least part of the time, they said.

Rooftop terrace noise levels were not on the agenda. Peter Adler, meeting moderator, said the consultant has not yet finished noise analysis from testing. When results of the noise study are in, another meeting will be held, Adler said.

Cheryl Soon, director of the city Department of Transportation Services, announced a new traffic signal will begin flashing tomorrow at Atkinson Drive and Kahakai Street. The signal will go into a regular stop-and-go pattern Tuesday, she said. The temporary flashing is to allow motorists to get used to it, she said.

Mary Charles, owner of a new company, Hawaii Convention Connection, which will oversee transportation, said bus traffic will be spaced out so not to disrupt traffic.

"In general, Waikiki will be divided into four zones (or routes)," she said.

Although transportation forecasts are based on a series of assumptions, modifications likely will be made with experience, Shaff said.

Eventually, relevant data will be transferred into an operating manual, he added.

Some residents said they were worried about getting in and out of their regular parking places.

"Ingress and egress - it's our responsibility to make sure that that's not impaired," Shaff said.

Trucks bringing in convention exhibits and supplies also worried some. "I can tell you that the trucking will be addressed in the operations manual," Shaff said.

Conventions will operate early in the day because mainlanders attending from earlier time zones will be early risers, he said, "and they're going to break earlier."