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Deadly Pali
crosswalk to be
illuminated

A system of flashing amber
lights will point out pedestrians'
route at the Jack Lane
intersection

By Mary Adamski
Star-Bulletin

Motorists will see a trail of flashing amber lights set in the pavement when a pedestrian is crossing Pali Highway at the deadly Jack Lane intersection.

Installation of the $44,000 inset electrical lighting system will begin this month, a Nuuanu audience was told last night. The crowd of 50 people heard about several measures in the works to ease the dangerous mix of major thoroughfare and residential neighborhood.

"It's aimed to get the driver's attention," said Tom Hamm of Lightguard Systems. The lighted crosswalk is a pilot project of the state Department of Transportation, an interim measure until a $700,000 project installing traffic signals at the intersection is completed in September.

"Motorists don't mind driving under something, but they hesitate to run over something. They slow down," Hamm said. The lighting, in use in Washington state and elsewhere, is visible from 2,000 feet in daylight, nighttime and rainy weather, he said.

Nuuanu resident Westley Chun described grass-roots efforts, and area lawmakers told the crowd money will be appropriated to address safety concerns. Their efforts became focused after pedestrian accidents last year that killed a 90-year-old woman and seriously injured an 80-year-old man. Five people have been killed and more than 200 injured on the 1.3-mile stretch since 1994.

Chun sought signatures on a petition that will be presented in the Legislature. It calls for measures that provide safety for pedestrians and the community, reduce speeding and make improvements without reducing the capacity of the roadway.

He said brainstorming sessions by residents produced a dozen proposals, which include eliminating some bus stops, eliminating some crosswalks, reducing the width of lanes and landscaping the highway. One proposal called for providing flags for pedestrians to carry when they cross the six-lane highway.

"We told the Department of Transportation that when there is a sewage spill, the government acts immediately, and when there is child abuse in a home, there is immediate response," Chun said. "That's why the department is putting in this pilot program."

Resident Pegge Hopper said: "You need to make it feel like a residential street. It's a psychological thing. What if it wasn't this big, wide, clear strip? We need someone to figure out what makes them calm down when they're driving."

She proposed "planting ... all the way on the medial strip."

Other prospects laid out for the crowd:

State Rep. Sylvia Luke (D, Nuuanu-Punchbowl) said $450,000 will be put into the capital improvements budget for Pali Highway planning and design work.

Sen. Rod Tam (D, Nuuanu-downtown) said he has a bill appropriating $4 million for four Oahu neighborhoods' projects, including the Nuuanu area.

City Council Chairman Jon Yoshimura said the Nuuanu grass-roots group qualifies for $2 million given to each of 19 "visioning teams" around the island.

Paul Hamamoto of the Department of Transportation said yellow signs depicting a pedestrian crossing will be replaced with the new federal highway fluorescent green signs by next month.

Crosswalks will be painted in a more visible pattern of parallel lines.

"No matter what we do, it's still up to the guy behind the wheel," Hamm told the crowd.