GEORGE F. LEE / GLEE@STARBULLETIN.COM
Sylvia Ashlock, left, Hank Reider and Ed Ashlock, from the Friends of Makakilo, sign-waved yesterday afternoon along Makakilo Drive during a rally calling for a moratorium on development in the Makakilo area.
Slower Makakilo
growth is urgedArea residents rally for a
temporary halt to home construction
About two dozen Makakilo residents waved signs during rush hour yesterday afternoon to push for a moratorium on residential construction in the area until more roads and schools are built.
"You don't frame a house and then do the foundation," said sign waver Bruce Schaper, who lives and works in Makakilo. "That's what is going on here."
The demonstrators' signs -- some of which read, "If you don't like traffic, honk," "No more traffic" and "More roads out" -- got a steady response of horn blowing from passing motorists.
Many of the sign wavers were members of the Friends of Makakilo, formed about a month ago in response to what members say are problems linked to a lack of infrastructure.
The group says that by temporarily halting construction of new homes in Makakilo, the rest of the community can catch up with the rapid development. They are circulating a petition for the moratorium and have about 500 signatures from residents so far, said Friends member Lisa Reider.
The organization's biggest concerns are overcrowded schools, bumper-to-bumper traffic near Kapolei's town center and the crumbling Makakilo Drive, the only way in and out of the community that neighbors Kapolei.
"There's a lot of growth, but the infrastructure isn't keeping up with the growth," said Makakilo resident and Friends member Diane Hutchins, who held a sign off Makakilo Drive yesterday along with her 2-year-old son.
But Makakilo/Kapolei/Honokai Hale Neighborhood Board Chairwoman Maeda Timson said a moratorium is not the answer.
"Working against them (the developers) may be more of an anti-productive thing," she said. "It makes me laugh. I drive in town (traffic) every day. What would we do, put a moratorium on the whole island of Oahu? I don't believe that's the answer."
An additional 4,000 homes are planned for Makakilo and nearby Kapolei within the next five years, according to island developers.
Schuler Homes Inc. is planning most of those new homes. An official with the company could not be reached for comment yesterday.
