Kokua Line
Kokua Line
A recent traffic death on the H-1 freeway by Waikele Shopping Center makes me believe again that guardrails are being installed at the wrong places. They were recently installed on Kamehameha Highway across from the Waipio Gentry Jack-in-the-Box and on Likelike Highway, on the Kaneohe side of Kalihi Stream. At both sites, the speed limit is 35 mph. But there are no guardrails in the center of divided highways north of Meheula Parkway on the H-2, on the H-1 by Waikele Center and on the west side of H-1 at the Barbers Point cutoff. The speed limit at all three sites, where death or serious injury occurred, is 55 mph. There are ample spaces to install rails. Several factors determine
where guardrails are putCan you find out why it is not done? Does not the federal government require the installation of such rails before the state of Hawaii can get highway funds?
Actual travel speeds, clear distance to hazards, traffic volume, accident history and classification of a highway facility are among the many factors involved in the decision to install guardrails, said state Highways Administrator Pericles Manthos.
But there is no federal requirement regarding guardrails.
Manthos said the recently installed guardrails you cite on Kamehameha and Likelike highways "were justified" and included as part of improvement projects in their areas.
He pointed to current construction of the "Contraflow and Shoulder Lane (Zipper Lane) Project," between the Manager's Drive overpass and the Pearl Harbor Interchange. When that project is completed, the movable concrete barriers will prevent vehicles from crossing over the median near Waikele Shopping Center, he said.
Also, the state Department of Transportation has received funding to install new median guardrails between Meheula Parkway and Wahiawa on the H-2. The design phase should be completed late next year, Manthos said.
"We have recently implemented a guardrail upgrade program," he said. Priority will be given to the H-1, and the west side of the freeway at the Barbers Point cutoff will be examined, he said.
On what day is the Independence Day holiday being observed this year? My calendar says it's being observed on July 3. Since the Fourth of July falls on Saturday this year, it will be "observed" on Friday, July 3. That means that's the day many workers will take off.
"State law specifies that state holidays which fall on a Saturday are observed on the Friday preceding the holiday," said Jim Dote, spokesman in the state Department of Human Resource Development. "Likewise, holidays which fall on Sundays are observed on the following Monday."
To police and city officials for not doing anything about drivers speeding. I called the Mayor's Office of Complaint regarding constant speeding on Kanaina Avenue from Monsarrat to the School for the Deaf and Blind. There's been no response. Auwe
The speeding continues all hours until 3 a.m. We have many children and elderly people who live there. Why don't police patrol the area and set up a speed trap?
(Unfortunately, speeding is a problem all over the island and police cannot monitor an area 24 hours a day. But officers have been monitoring Kanaina Avenue and recently handed out one speeding ticket and four warnings, said police Officer Paul Nakajo.)
To the newspaper carrier on a moped who "burns out" everyday while delivering on Pukele Avenue, blowing dust and debris into our homes. Try to have more consideration for your customers and neighbors. -- No name Auwe
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