Kokua Line
Kokua Line
Question: Who is responsible for that blunder on King Street? They just laid concrete and rebars on North King Street, near the intersection with Beretania. A week or two later, I see them digging it all up. How much is this blunder going to cost taxpayers? City replacing deteriorating
bus pads around Aala ParkAnswer: There was no "blunder," according to a city spokesman. The digging is part of work to replace the old bus pad next to Aala Park.
The engineer working on the project explained that the old concrete pad was at least 15 years old and deteriorating and needed to be replaced, said George Souza of the city Department of Customer Services.
The pad will be "upgraded" and widened to 12 feet from 10 feet to make it easier for bus drivers "to stay on the pad," he said. The pad, meanwhile, will stretch "pretty much" the length of the park in the mauka lane.
On the Beretania Street side of the park, bus pads have also been laid along two lanes heading toward Liliha Street. Work also was done at a nearby intersection, a "high-traffic area for buses," to increase pedestrian safety, Souza said. A new bus pad was also laid on King Street just Ewa of Liliha Street, he said.
Auwe
To you folks out there who experience flat tires. Watching someone change a tire alongside a busy roadway IS NOT A SPECTATOR SPORT! Three times in the past few months, I passed by similar situations. The first involved three young adults, who stood between two vans watching a young man change the left rear tire of the van in front alongside the H-1 near Waimalu. It was evening and they were standing about a foot away from the solid white line, with their backs to the oncoming traffic. The second was along Fort Weaver Road during the day, with two men watching a third change a tire on a stretch limo. Same thing, inches from the roadway with their backs to oncoming traffic. The third was again on the H-1 near Waipahu, with the car so close to traffic that when the fellow was squatting to change the tire, his okole was just about on the solid white line. A woman stood about 20 feet away, facing traffic, but only about five inches in from the oncoming traffic. In any physical confrontation with a car going by at 45 to 65 mph, you are not going to win that argument! -- Imuki(Honolulu police Sgt. Robert Lung of the Traffic Division passed along some safety tips for motorists who find themselves having to deal with flat tires along a roadway:
(1. Make sure your vehicle is as well off the traveled portion of the road as possible. 2. Turn on the vehicle's emergency flashers. 3. Carry at least three flares and place them every 20 feet, for a total length of 60 feet. 4. Have a flashlight available, if needed. 5. Lift the hood of the vehicle so others will know you are having problems.
(6. Wear light-colored clothing or a reflective material, if possible. 7. Always face approaching traffic and watch it at all times. All other people not involved should be standing well off the roadway, to the side, and facing traffic. No one should stand to the rear of the vehicle or between vehicles.
(8. Never try to change a tire if you will be close to the traveling portion of the road. Call for help rather than take the chance of being struck by a speeding vehicle. 9. Never, never assume that other motorists will see you.
(As Lung advises, "Always tell yourself that they do not see you.")
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