With the construction, traffic and the addition of a new median, a bike rider gets squeezed between traffic on Kuhio Avenue in Waikiki.
Kuhio work
frustrates driversImprovements to the avenue
are expected to end in December
Construction on Kuhio Avenue in Waikiki is proving frustrating for taxi, limousine and delivery truck drivers who spend their workdays running the barricade gantlet.
"As a driver, I don't even want to go through or near Kuhio," said Alan Hui, a 29-year driver for Charley's Taxi & Tours. "Every day is a problem going through Kuhio Avenue."
Construction on the heavily used thoroughfare is entering its third month, tying up a key delivery route and clogging traffic on the road and neighboring Kalakaua Avenue. Work on Kuhio includes widening sidewalks and installing medians and new street lights. The $19 million project is expected to be completed in December.
Some taxicab drivers said temporary bus stops on Kuhio are not long or wide enough for buses to fit, causing the rear of buses to protrude into traffic and block passing cars.
But city spokeswoman Carol Costa said there is enough space for buses to pull off the road.
"It can fully accommodate buses," Costa said. "They are adequate to take the full length of the bus."
James Cowen, president of Oahu Transit Services Inc., said: "We're doing OK on Kuhio. ... Certainly it will be better when the construction is finished."
Dieu "Duke" Tiet, owner of Duke's Limousine Inc., said the landscaped medians on Kuhio Avenue make it difficult for his drivers to maneuver.
"The way they did it is so stupid. We are having a difficult time making turns," Tiet said. "Our tires are going against the curb."
Some delivery truck and tour bus drivers said their schedules are slowed by the project.
"From time to time, we are fighting delivery windows," said Curt Fey, operations director of Y. Hata & Co. Ltd. "The construction just added to the delays in meeting those times. Everybody is bearing with it, but grudgingly so."
Fey added: "It's really frustrating. Waikiki is already a difficult place to deliver."
Passenger loading zones are difficult to find, said Kauokalani Moikeha, safety and training manager of Travel Plaza Transportation. "We're not very thrilled about it. It's a difficult situation that we have to deal with."
Six temporary freight and tour bus loading areas will be added to Seaside Avenue between Kalakaua and Kuhio avenues starting next Tuesday, Costa said.
"We are working as quickly as possible," she said. "We are asking people to be patient."
But difficulties will remain once construction is over, said Gareth Sakakida, managing director of the Hawaii Transportation Association.
"Really, what we are facing is not much different from the construction period," Sakakida said.
