Changing Hawaii
WHAT is it about multi-lane intersections that unleash the fire-breathing beast in drivers? Is it because, in this age of immediacy -- when data can be transmitted in mere seconds via e-mail, when people are always reachable by fax, pager or cellular phone -- that no one has the patience anymore to wait out a red light? Being extra careful
at intersectionsApparently not. Moving a vehicle through Honolulu's crossroads has become an exercise in bravado.
In the past, green meant proceed. Now it requires looking both ways before proceeding -- and that goes for pedestrians as well as motorists.
One chilling near-miss occurred at the corner of Vineyard and Queen Emma. Two girls wearing school backpacks waited to cross the busy boulevard. When the walk-light came on, the shorter student unthinkingly stepped forward.
Suddenly, she was jerked back by the taller girl, who grabbed her companion just in time to avoid a car careening through the red light.
No doubt about it. If the youngster had been hit, her body would have shattered.
And that's not even the worst crossing on Oahu. According to State Farm Insurance, the largest auto insurer in Hawaii and the nation, Kapiolani and Atkinson is the state's most dangerous intersection, with 49 crashes last year.
Personally, I always get nervous when navigating the area. There's a ton of metal streaming toward Ala Moana or Waikiki, not to mention brave but batty tourists dodging cars to get from the convention center to Hard Rock Cafe (it should sell T-shirts saying, "I jaywalked Atkinson near Kapiolani -- and survived").
Because the precarious site ranked among State Farm's 172 most hazardous intersections in America, the city may get $20,000 for an engineering study to see how it can be made safer.
But more must be done.
One major project was approved by the 1998 Legislature, but has been ping-ponging between the state Department of Transportation and Honolulu Police Department.
Finally ready to go out to bid in August is a three-year de-monstration project. It would allow each county to install up to 25 photo-imaging detectors to catch drivers who ignore or speed through traffic lights.
Here's how it works: Sensors are buried under crosswalks leading to camera boxes mounted on poles. Photos are snapped of a traffic violator's face, vehicle and license plate, along with the time, date and location of infraction.
These poles could be installed at numerous intersections, so motorists wouldn't know if a particular site contained one of the live cameras being rotated throughout the community. Sneaky, huh?
THE winning vendor, which could begin operating as soon as early 2000, would enter the Hawaii market with a turn-key operation: installing the cameras, changing the film, mailing out citations and collecting fines. It would be a boon for everybody but the scofflaws:
The vendor would be compensated by receiving a percentage of the penalties, thereby costing taxpayers nothing.
And best of all, the dragon -- better known as the heavy-footed intersection interloper -- will have been tamed. Until then, as the summer heat rages on, let's all cool it.
Diane Yukihiro Chang's column runs Monday and Friday.
She can be reached by phone at 525-8607, via e-mail at
DianeChang@aol.com, or by fax at 523-7863.