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Crosswalk,
speed bumps
proposed to make
Mililani school safer

The neighborhood board
backs those plans plus a
parking restriction and
more signs nearby

---

By Harold Morse
Star-Bulletin

Administrators want speed bumps in the Mililani Middle School parking lot to make it safer.

They also seek a midblock crosswalk on Lehiwa Drive -- possibly coming off Makaikai Street or maybe even closer to the school -- pedestrian warning signs and signs for no parking from 2 to 3 p.m. on either side of the school entrance that comes off Lehiwa Drive.

Lehiwa Drive now dead-ends at the school but eventually will be extended beyond it.

Mililani Mauka/Launani Valley Neighborhood Board voted unanimously last week to support the proposed safety measures.

Roger Kim, principal of the school at 95-1140 Lehiwa Drive, outlined the proposals in a memo, and the school safety officer incorporated Kim's recommendations in a letter to the neighborhood board last month.

"We are supporting it," said Roy Doi, neighborhood board chairman.

The board will send letters to the state recommending the parking lot speed bumps and the city recommending the midblock crosswalk and the no-parking proposal on Lehiwa Drive, Doi said.

Doi acknowledged the crosswalk idea may be controversial because the city generally prefers not to install mid-block crosswalks.

Another wrinkle is Lehiwa Drive is not owned by the city. It's privately owned by Castle & Cooke, Mililani developers.

"I'm sure we would have no problem with it," said Harry Saunders, Castle & Cooke senior vice president. "I would have to see, of course, that proposal.

"We still have to get everything approved by the city. We always comply and work with the city on those recommendations," he added. "I'm sure we would do everything we can to make sure we have a safe situation there."

The Department of Education likely would support having speed bumps in the parking lot and the crosswalk on the busy street, said Deborah Oyama, assistant Department of Education superintendent for public affairs.