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Kokua Line
June Watanabe
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Not every cul-de-sac is cleaned
Question: I am very grateful for the city providing street cleaning services. Our cul-de-sac accumulates lots of debris and loose gravel. What is the procedure for cleaning any cul-de-sac, including one that is on the side of a main road? I observed the cleaner recently and he cleaned the edges and the "opening" area of our cul-de-sac, but not the middle of it, where there is lots of debris. It could be that the machine is not very maneuverable or there is not much time to go over every inch of road, but I was curious as to why this large portion of the road is skipped.
Answer: The city's street-sweeping machines cannot and do not clean every cul-de-sac and, in some cases, not every part of a cul-de-sac that they do clean.
In some areas, that may be because of a narrow roadway, parked vehicles, an inadequate turning area or steep slopes, explained Laverne Higa, chief of the Department of Facility Maintenance.
The city also does not sweep city cul-de-sacs without curbs or privately-owned ones, she said.
Owners of property adjacent to a city street are not responsible for cleaning the street, but you might consider picking up any debris as part of being a good neighbor, since the city will not otherwise do so.
Q: Will the state Transportation Department be repainting the right, double-turn, solid white line on the corner of Alakea Street and Vineyard Street? It's been faded for a long time now so you can barely see the line, and many people turning from the far right lane disregard the line either because they don't see it or they don't care, which results in many near accidents with cars turning from the middle lane. The faded line creates a hazardous situation for everyone.
A: We first asked the city about this and was told you must be referring to the intersection of Queen Emma Street and Vineyard, because Alakea Street ends at Beretania Street.
Vineyard Boulevard, but not Vineyard Street, falls under the jurisdiction of the state Department of Transportation.
"We'll put it on our list of things to do to get it eventually restriped," said transportation spokesman Scott Ishikawa.
"Unfortunately," he noted, "even when the white, solid line was more visible, the drivers would illegally cross the line anyway to get into the far left turning lane."
Mahalo
To the person who found our dog Kahu, a small, black-and-white mixed-Maltese, near Liliha and Upper Judd streets on April 3 and turned him in to the Hawaiian Humane Society within an hour and a half. This person must be a true dog lover and a great citizen. -- Kahu's Owner
Mahalo
To Herk Omaknai, who works at the recycling center at Times Super Market in Moiliili. I had my bank book, check for $500 and $50 in cash in a bag that I dropped into the recycling container. Mr. Omaknai found it and returned everything to me. -- Grateful
Got a question or complaint? Call 529-4773, fax 529-4750, or write to Kokua Line, Honolulu Star-Bulletin, 500 Ala Moana Blvd., No. 7-210, Honolulu 96813. As many as possible will be answered. E-mail to
kokualine@starbulletin.com.
See also: Useful phone numbers