Fatality spurs
traffic plan

City officials propose
calming measures on
Makakilo Drive

CORRECTION Thursday, April 14, 2005 » Kioni Dudley is Makakilo Neighborhood Board treasurer. A story on Page A5 Friday incorrectly reported he is vice chairman, a seat he formerly held. 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 corrections@starbulletin.com.

A Kapolei Middle School student's death on Makakilo Drive on Monday has prompted the city to propose a median and crosswalk in the area of the accident.

A similar proposal a few years ago had been rejected by residents who objected to having the busy four-lane roadway narrowed to two lanes.

Education and transportation officials, a city councilman and property managers met yesterday at state Rep. Mark Moses' office to discuss possible solutions to the problem of schoolchildren crossing outside the crosswalk on the busy road.

Nathan Curry, 15, was hit by a pickup truck and killed when he crossed Makakilo Drive on Monday morning to catch a school bus. The school bus stop is in the middle of a block and not near a crosswalk.

Residents are concerned not only for the children catching school buses, but also for students who cross the road at the same location to get to a stairway leading to Mauka Lani Elementary School.

"Given what has happened, I think we need to take a real hard look at doing this because there is a need to slow down the traffic and combat the speeding," said Ed Hirata, city transportation director.

Hirata said the traffic-calming device could be done with four lanes, but it might not work.

"It would seem to me that if you wanted to make it easier for this crosswalk to work, the best way is to narrow it down to two lanes and make it easier for pedestrians to cross, and if we're talking about schoolchildren, all the more that we slow down the vehicles," he said.

But Makakilo Neighborhood Vice Chairman Kioni Dudley said that with the area's 4,000 homes and about 8,000 cars, "making it one lane (in each direction) is nuts."

"I think they need a stop signal with a crosswalk," he said, adding that the light would stay green unless activated by someone pushing the button to cross the road.

"You got to realize that Makakilo Drive is a major thoroughfare, and people aren't going to slow down," he said. "It's going to be a problem for fire engines and everybody else."

He said when the former principal of Mauka Lani Elementary had proposed traffic calming there, there was strong opposition to it.

Hirata said he will propose a demonstration project with plastic curbs that could simulate the median, which could be set up for about $5,000 and could be done within a couple of weeks. A permanent median and crosswalk would cost between $100,000 and $200,000.

He will appear before the neighborhood board later this month to make the proposal.

Hirata said a traffic light would aggravate drivers who must deal with too many lights too close to each other.

The Department of Education proposed two school bus stops on the downhill side of Makakilo Drive and moving the current bus stop on the uphill side closer to a crosswalk.

Other proposals such as flashing lights and new warning signs were also discussed, which the Department of Transportation Services will consider, Hirata said.