Maui group shines
light on Makawao
traffic riskThe residents want a
traffic signal installed
to prevent accidents
WAILUKU >> A group of parents on Maui are lobbying to have traffic lights installed at a Makawao intersection where two pedestrians, including a child, were seriously injured by cars.
Residents said drivers are frequently speeding above the 20 mph limit while crossing Makawao Avenue at Makani Road, making it dangerous for people using the crosswalk.
The crosswalk is used by neighborhood youths to get to Kalama Intermediate School and sports activities at Eddie Tam Gym and nearby ball fields.
A public meeting to look at traffic alternatives is scheduled for 9 a.m. Thursday before the Maui County Council's Public Works and Traffic Committee.
Committee Chairman Michael Molina, a former teacher at Kalama Intermediate, said there is a problem with speeding at the intersection.
"Drivers are very inconsiderate in that area," Molina said.
Molina said before the accidents in March and May, his committee had begun to look into how to make the intersection safer. Molina said he thinks the police should be focusing on enforcing the speed limit there.
He said the committee will be looking at various proposals, including the installation of a three-way stop light or flashing lights to warn motorists of someone crossing the intersection.
One of the injured pedestrians was 11-year-old Little League Baseball player Jordan Tabura who was struck by a vehicle while he was crossing Makawao Avenue at Makani Road to go to a ball field near Kalama Intermediate School at 3 p.m. on May 3.
Tabura, who was taken by ambulance to Maui Memorial Medical Center, suffered a concussion along with minor cuts and scrapes.
"It could have been a lot worse," said Bill Hendershot, Tabura's coach for the Haiku Royals minor league team.
Tabura has returned to school, but he's not expected to resume playing baseball this season, Hendershot said.
Another pedestrian accident occurred in March when crossing guard Frank Estrella was hit in the early afternoon by a vehicle on Makani Road near Makawao Avenue while he was setting up traffic markers.
Estrella, who was critically injured, is recovering at home.
He was in a wheelchair last month, demonstrating with 40 other people near the intersection, including baseball players from Pukalani and Haiku.
