Wal-Mart isn't being honest about noise

I have owned a small business on Sheridan Street for 49 years. My customers and I were at first excited about Wal-Mart and Sam's Club coming into the Keeaumoku Street superblock because we would have convenient shopping right across the street.

The more we learn about this project, the more worried we get. Why isn't Wal-Mart telling us that with "convenience," we in the community will be bombarded with gridlock, round-the-clock noise and trucks belching toxic diesel fumes into open windows? Also, access for my customers will become difficult. I attend the community meetings but as more discussion occurs, more questions come up.

Experts are calling for an environmental impact study that will address these questions. Let's get one done to answer our questions once and for all.

Mieko Nakamura
Mie's Hairstyles

Impact study needed before store is built

If Wal-Mart is serious about working with the residents of the Keeaumoku superblock, how about joining us in an economic and environmental impact study of the effects of plunking down the largest box store in the world in the midst of densely populated neighborhoods with narrow residential streets for access?

Come to town and work with us who live here to study what effect 25,000 additional cars a day will have on the most traffic-clogged area in Honolulu.

How about the pollution and noise from 200 delivery trucks and vans? And the noise, lights and beep-beep-beeping of container trucks backing into those 15 loading bays around the clock? Will our lives be hell or only heck? How many local businesses will go belly-up? Will we have an overall loss of jobs and tax revenues?

Won't you work with us to get the answers to these questions before building the store?

That's all we ask.

Jim Becker

Cayetano had his say on renaming tunnels

I have never seen arrogance as flagrant as that displayed by Gov. Ben Cayetano. I'm referring to his answer to Linda Lingle's announcement that she will rename the H-3 tunnels back to their original name in honor of former state highways official Tetsuo Harano (Star-Bulletin, Nov. 13).

Why does Cayetano feel he has to respond? He already gave his reason for renaming the tunnels; he said the transportation department did not live up to his standards and therefore he didn't feel Harano was worthy of the honor. We didn't buy it then. Why should we buy it now?

Steve Lombard
Laie

Why make Waialae intersections difficult?

It used to be that when traveling west on Waialae Avenue in the right curbside lane (in front of the Goodwill store), it was no problem to turn right into Kokohead Avenue. Also, traveling east on Waialae Avenue to turn right into 11th Avenue was no problem.

Now the Department of Transportation has put these little white poles just before the right turn to Kokohead, forcing you to move left into the next lane with its heavy traffic before you can turn right into Kokohead. The same is true when traveling east on Waialae Avenue -- the right lane is blocked with these little poles and you are forced to switch into the left lane before you can turn right onto 11th Avenue.

What is the justification for that? It only creates a hardship for right turners at both intersections.

Margie Caluya

A few nuts turn driving into a nightmare

I join your readers who are convinced that since the curtailment of van cams, many drivers have returned to excessive speeding and careless or reckless driving. Fortunately, I am retired and drive only during non-busy hours. While most drivers operate their vehicles sensibly, it's the few nuts who ignore all safety practices.

The intersection at Valkenburgh Street and Nimitz Highway is a nightmare. It takes three light changes before a short line of vehicles can clear the intersection. People heading for the new Navy mall routinely block the intersection, leading to road rage, and a serious accident or fracas is waiting to happen.

Johnny Chung
Pearl City

Try cheaper solutions to H-1 gridlock

The main problems that tie up the H-1 traffic flow are:

Traffic comes to a stop and backs up between the H-1 and Nimitz Highway merge; between the H-1 and the Kinau Street exit merge; between the H-1 and the Punahou Street exit merge; between the H-1 and the Dillingham Boulevard exit merge and the stop-and-go traffic on Kamehameha Highway during peak hours.

My recommendations are:

During the morning (6 a.m. to 8 a.m.) and evening (4 p.m. to 6 p.m.), change the traffic light patterns and eliminate crossing traffic patterns during this period at major intersections along these merges.

During the morning and afternoon, folks wanting to cross at these intersections from side streets must make a right turn then a U-turn into main eastbound and westbound traffic. Provide suitable U-turn merges as required. Folks wanting to cross the intersections at these peak times may complain, but we can ease their pain when we tell them how much of their tax dollars will be saved by eliminating more viaducts, as proposed by our new governor.

Jimbo Miur
Mililani

Higher power may find invocation insulting

With regard to whether or not to allow a prayer before City Council meetings, advocating prayer for help strikes me as being akin to advocating blasphemy. Consider that such a prayer implies at least one of the following:

>> Those praying believe that God, for all his omniscience, doesn't know help is needed, or, for all his loving nature, doesn't care.

>> Those praying believe that God, for all his omnipotence, can't manage every need and must choose which ones to fulfill.

>> Those praying believe that God suffers from low self-esteem, and that he favors those who acknowledge him, and to hell with those who don't -- in effect an accusation of an all-too-human failing.

It's not a big deal, because no God worthy of the name is annoyed by blasphemy, but he wouldn't view it in a positive light, either.

Bart Mathias

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