Kokua Line
Kokua Line
Camera vans
may work in pairs
on same highway
Question: If the state Department of Transportation only has four vans to catch speeders, why are two on the Pali Highway? When I was driving home about 5 p.m. last Thursday, there were two vans on the Pali. I feel people on the Windward side are being harassed by the state.Answer: Windward motorists actually were subjected to the double whammy last Sunday and Monday, acknowledged DOT spokeswoman Marilyn Kali, who initially said two vans had never been posted together at the same time.
"Apparently this did occur on Jan. 3 and 4 on the second shift in response to the fact that people would speed up once they passed the speed van," she said. "The effort is to get people to drive at the speed limit all the time."
The state has determined which highways are to be used for the photo enforcement, and Kali says it then approves each individual location that a speed van or camera is set up.
As for possibly targeting Windward motorists, Kali said that "most of the speeding complaints that we get are on Pali and Likelike highways, so we are trying to slow drivers down to the speed limit. If it takes two vans to do this, we will do it. If motorists drive at the posted speed limit, they do not have anything to worry about."
Q: Where can we recycle our dead Christmas trees this year?
A: Saturday was the one "treecycling" day this year, when you could discard your Christmas tree at one of 11 sites on Oahu.
For years the city scheduled two "treecycling" days, but reduced it to one last year because it will pick up Christmas trees at homes serviced by the city's automated refuse trucks.
If you live in one of the 130,000 homes along the automated collection routes, you can just put your tree at curbside for pickup on a "green waste collection day" scheduled twice a month. (Yard waste collection days are indicated on the sticker placed on rubbish carts.)
Make sure you remove any ornaments, tinsel or flocking because if decorations are not removed, the tree will not be collected. Everything picked up as "green waste" is taken to a composting facility.
If you live along a route with manual collection, you can drop off your Christmas tree for chipping and composting at one of the city's Convenience Centers for Refuse & Recycling. For more information and nearest location, call 527-5335.
Q: We park in the Fisherman's Wharf area, and in order for us to leave the area, we have to go to the Kewalo end and exit to Ala Moana from that traffic light. But the Hawaii Community Development Authority modified the light so now if we want to turn left onto Ala Moana, Ewa-going traffic blocks our exit onto Ala Moana. They put up an island so people couldn't make a left turn from Ala Moana into Kewalo Basin. Please help us. Maybe a sign saying "do not block the intersection" would help. We were even more trapped during Christmas traffic.
A: The HCDA will discuss the possibility of posting an additional sign with the state Department of Transportation, which oversees Ala Moana Boulevard, said HCDA Executive Director Jan Yokota. However, it might take a while because HCDA engineers have to prepare drawings to submit to the DOT for possible approval. Yokota said she would update us with the decision.
Mahalo
To Ed who stopped to change my tire after I had a flat near the Hawaiian Water Adventure Park on Dec. 21. My daughter and I really appreciate it. -- Grateful
Got a question or complaint?
Call 529-4773, fax 529-4750, or write to Kokua Line,
Honolulu Star-Bulletin, 500 Ala Moana Blvd., No. 7-210,
Honolulu 96813. As many as possible will be answered.
Email to kokualine@starbulletin.com