Kokua Line
Kokua Line
Question: The state was installing stop lights at the Kai Nani section of the Waialae golf course on Kalanianaole Highway at the intersection of Kaimoku Place and Analii Street. Kai Nani is a small cul-de-sac dead-end road, consisting of a main street named Kaimoku Place and a short street named Kaimoku Way. On Kalanianaole the newly installed overhead sign reads "Kaimoku Street." There is no such street in the area or on the island named Kaimoku Street. Why did the state use that incorrect name, and will they correct or replace the sign? East Oahu roadways
stir residents’ concernAnswer: The contractor doing work in the area put up that sign, and no one noticed it was wrong, said Department of Transportation spokeswoman Marilyn Kali. It will be replaced within the next month at no extra cost to the state, she said.
Q: At Kalanianaole Highway and Hawaii Kai Drive, traveling Ewa, Kalanianaole is striped so that the through lanes approaching that intersection become three lanes. The through lanes are the second and third ones, rather than the first and second. That means traffic turning right from Hawaii Kai Drive has to merge with oncoming traffic. Wouldn't re-striping the lanes, so that the first and second lanes are through lanes, cut down a lot of the merging and reduce potential accident situations?
A: Actually, the state Department of Transportation believes the "benefit to the public would be questionable" and the potential for accidents would be increased. State highways engineer Tom Gabrielli explained that the "geometrics of the roadway would make for an awkward transition of the lanes from one side of the intersection to the other."
Also, the bus bay on the east side of Hawaii Kai Drive would be adversely affected, he said. The bus would have to change lanes in the middle of the intersection, then move back into the right lane before the next bus stop just before Kawaihae Street.
"Cars exiting Hawaii Kai Drive would soon realize that they have an exclusive lane and begin to disregard the traffic signal," Gabrielli said. That would make pedestrians and bicyclists at risk from inattentive motorists. On top of that, he said potential conflicts would arise from lane changes by decelerating vehicles wanting to turn right into Kawaihae, and accelerating vehicles entering Kalanianaole from Hawaii Kai Drive, he said.
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