Task force is
fighting Kalakaua
lane closure

By Gordon Y.K. Pang
Star-Bulletin

Waikiki residents and a taxicab company are collecting signatures to halt the city's plan to take away a lane of traffic on the Diamond Head end of Kalakaua Avenue.

Louis Xigogianis, of the Citizens Task Force Opposed to the Removal of the Makai Lane of Kalakaua Avenue, said more than 1,000 Hawaii residents have already signed the petition.

The plan calls for expansion of Kuhio Beach and development of a promenade along a new, winding walkway, as proposed by Mayor Jeremy Harris.

To make room, Kalakaua would be reduced from four lanes to three between Kaiulani and Kapahulu avenues.

The City Council has approved $13.5 million for development but must still grant a special management area use permit before the project can get started.

The city is currently doing a simulated traffic study to analyze the effects closing a lane would have.

City Department of Transportation Services Director Cheryl Soon said counters, travel time surveys and overhead cameras are monitoring all aspects of the Kalakaua commute during the next week or so.

Assuming all goes well, Soon said, she's hoping to get the use permit from the Council within the next two months.

Area Councilman Duke Bainum, who sought the study, said he's received assurances from the administration that the project will not go forward if problems aren't resolved after the simulation is completed.

Xigogianis said he doesn't need to wait for the results. "It's an awfully expensive way to gain less than an acre of beach," he said, adding that he's skeptical the lane closure will bring improvements in traffic.

Dale Evans, head of Charley's Taxi and Tours, is predicting that a Kalakaua taxi ride would take longer -- and cost more -- as a result of the lane closure.

Regular passengers already are telling her drivers to take Kuhio instead of Kalakaua, even though a Kuhio commute traditionally is lengthier.

A number of her drivers have already signed petitions, she said.

Evans questioned why a mauka lane is being closed when the permanent setup would shut down the lane farthest makai.

Soon said the mauka lane is being shut down for the experiment to replicate the effects of having a 60-foot loading zone that would be reserved for passenger and cargo.

Gareth Sakakida, managing director for the Hawaii Transportation Association, said his 350-company organization is adopting a wait-and-see attitude.

The association's main concern is the impact of the loading bays for deliveries, and pickups, he said. Currently, motor carriers are allowed to use all curb space along both sides of Kalakaua from 10 p.m. to 9 a.m.