DEAN SENSUI / DSENSUI@STARBULLETIN.COM
Robert Pedro, operations manager for Apply-a-Line, hammered at rumble strips on the Pali Highway to break them free of the asphalt yesterday while apprentice Sang Ngo shoveled up the fragments. The state contracted Apply-a-Line to remove the speed-reduction features.
State removes
Pali rumble stripsResidents in the area complained
that the strips were too noisy
The rumble strips along Pali Highway may be gone, but the state Department of Transportation hopes motorists won't forget why they were there.
CORRECTION
Saturday, Oct. 11, 2003>> The Pali Highway rumble strips were put in to slow speeders between the Pali tunnel and downtown Honolulu. A story yesterday on Page A8 incorrectly referred to the Wilson tunnel.
The Honolulu Star-Bulletin strives to make its news report fair and accurate. If you have a question or comment about news coverage, call Editor Frank Bridgewater at 529-4791 or email him at fbridgewater@starbulletin.com.
"The intent of the rumble strips was to reduce speed," said state Transportation Director Rod Haraga. "We did that."
After the rumble strips were removed yesterday because of noise complaints, Haraga said drivers may speed up again in the residential section of the highway between the Wilson Tunnel and downtown Honolulu.
State studies show average speeds were reduced by 5 to 6 miles an hour due to the rumble strips. At the Waokanaka Street intersection heading toward town, the average speed was 52 mph before the rumble strips were installed and 46 afterward. The speed limit is 35 mph.
The state spent $10,900 to remove the rumble strips after paying $3,600 to install them in May. The state spent an additional $6,000 to reduce the height of the strips from a half-inch to a quarter-inch after motorists complained the strips were too jarring.
The strips were part of a $418,000 project to reduce speeding on the highway. Other elements included better signs and speed displays that use radar to show drivers how fast they are going. The rumble strips were on the Kailua-bound lanes just before Wyllie Street and just before Waokanaka Street on the townbound lanes.
Many Nuuanu residents originally welcomed the rumble strips, but people who live near Waokanaka Street complained about the noise from cars going over the strips and the Nuuanu Neighborhood Board asked the state to remove the strips.
The state has been working with the Nuuanu Neighborhood Board and community members on ways to reduce speeding on the highway since the 1999 death of a 90-year-old woman struck by a car as she crossed the Pali Highway near Niolopa Place. There have been 11 fatalities on the Pali Highway from 1996 to 2002, eight on the Nuuanu side of the highway, police said.
Haraga said the state will have to rely on enforcement and education to reduce speeding. He said the Department of Transportation will continue to work with community members and the neighborhood board about other ways to slow drivers.
