Kokua Line
Kokua Line
Question: About 4 p.m. Thursday, June 7, in downtown Honolulu, an ambulance went by while I was waiting for the red light to change. This happens quite often. I'm waiting for the light to turn green, but the red light stays on about another two minutes longer after the ambulance is long gone. The light stays red so long, someone finally got upset and just went through the red light. I think it is stupid that the ambulance crew can make the light stay red for so long. Can't they make it stay just 30 seconds after they pass by? There is no reason to make the red light stay red for a minute and 30 seconds longer. Ambulances only want
to see green lightsAnswer: The ambulance crew has no control over how long the light stays green or red, said Robin McCulloch, chief of the city's Emergency Medical Services Division.
City ambulances are equipped with the Opticom system, which activates green lights as they approach an intersection. Once the ambulance passes through an intersection, the traffic signal cycles back into its regular cycle, McCulloch said.
"That's why it doesn't immediately return to a green signal for the traffic," he said. "The belief is it should go through a cycle, giving the other cars an amber light so they have a chance to stop.
"The ambulance crew has no control over how long the traffic lights take to get back to green. That's just a function of cycling of the system once an emergency vehicle passes an intersection."
Q: My husband and I had wanted to see the movie "Pearl Harbor" on Friday, June 8. We decided to pick up tickets early using the Group Movie Tickets. We went to Consolidated's Koko Marina Theatres and were told that we could not use the GMTs for the evening showings. We abide by what is printed in the newspaper, which, for that evening, had a "diamond" next to it indicating it was in digital sound only and no "triangle" to indicate no GMT use. The GMTs seem useless since Consolidated offers discount rates for matinees. Why are they dictating when we can use them when most people work during the day? Is this consistent with all Consolidated Theatres?
A: You should have been able to use your GMTs that night, said Jon Matsumoto, general manager of the Koko Marina Theatres, who apologized for your experience. The employee made a mistake, he said.
The restrictions on GMTs are made by the various film studios, which do not want certain movies shown at discount prices, generally during the early weeks of their opening, Matsumoto explained.
In the case of "Pearl Harbor," the Disney Studios asked for that restriction for the first two weeks. However, the two-week restriction was no longer in effect the night that you and your husband went to the theater.
Theater chains offer bargain discount prices during matinees to try to lure moviegoers during the slow daytime period. You can use GMTs for matinees only because they cost more than matinee prices, Matsumoto said.
Auwe
To an idiot with a passenger on a motorcycle who passed me on the shoulder as I waited next to the yield sign for the traffic to go by at the intersection of Kaukonahua Road and Wilikina Drive at 1:30 p.m. June 6. You ran that yield sign and almost caused a disastrous accident. If you can't ride your motorcycle defensively, stay off the road. -- Angry Waialua resident
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