•‘Arrive Alive’ • Kipu Falls trouble ‘Arrive Alive’ I’d like to take this opportunity to acknowledge and thank the state Department of Transportation and our community. On Sept. 9, Director Brennen Morioka sent his staff to Kaua‘i to hear the
•‘Arrive Alive’
• Kipu Falls trouble
‘Arrive Alive’
I’d like to take this opportunity to acknowledge and thank the state Department of Transportation and our community.
On Sept. 9, Director Brennen Morioka sent his staff to Kaua‘i to hear the concerns of the community regarding the safety along Kuhio Highway at the Wailua corridor.
On Sept. 30, after extensive surveying and traffic counts of the highway, the DOT recommended a speed reduction from 50 mph to 40 mph and also installed additional safety signs along the corridor.
The speed reduction is intended to make it much safer for traffic traveling along the corridor and especially when turning in and out of Kaua‘i Fruits and Flowers, the Hilton Kaua‘i Beach Resort and the Pahio Kaua‘i Beach Villas, Marine Camp, Wailua Golf Course, KCCC, Aloha Beach Resort, and the Wailua Marina.
This would not have been possible without the assistance of many people in our community; there were about 30 people who attended the Sept. 9 meeting and many more who have voiced concerns about the safety of the area. I apologize in advance for the names of people that may have been omitted and please forgive me if your name is not listed.
From the government sector: Morioka; Jiro Sumida, deputy director of DOT Highways Division; Alvin Takeshita, state traffic engineer; Raymond McCormick, Kaua‘i District engineer; Michael Hinazumi, Kaua‘i District construction engineer; Standford Iwamoto, Kaua‘i District design engineer; Lori Yoshida, governor’s Kaua‘i liaison; Tammy Mori, spokeswoman; Darryl Perry, KPD chief; Alejandre Quibilan, acting assistant chief/captain; Mark Scribner, acting captain/lieutenant; Mayor Bernard Carvalho; Gary Hue, administrative assistant; Kaipo Asing, council chair; Derek Kawakami, public safety chair; Peter Nakamura, county clerk; and Sen. Gary Hooser.
Also in attendance were Chucky Boy (who was a victim in an accident in that area a few years ago) and Pam Chock; Ron Wiley, KONG Radio; Paul Curtis, Mike Levine and Nathan Eagle, The Garden Island newspaper; Bob Bartolo; Ray and Jan Blouin. A big mahalo to all those who were involved in this effort to make our highway safer.
Since the reduced speed limit has been posted for that area I’m sure we’ve all noticed the change in driving habits from motorists who drive along the corridor. Our police department has been very proactive in monitoring the area with radar guns and radar signs to remind us how fast we are traveling through the area. Now it’s up to us to drive safely during this holiday season and beyond, as signs along the highway read: “Arrive Alive.”
James Kunane Tokioka, State representative, District 15
Kipu Falls trouble
The legendary song goes “How many deaths will it take till we know that too many people have died? The answer my friend, is blowin’ in the wind.”
Kipu Falls is a tough problem to solve. I have lived here a long time and I have seen many favorite spots taken away by chain-link fences and gated communities. There are a considerable number of local people who have a great time at Kipu Falls, and they don’t seem to get hurt or killed. Many visitors also have nothing but a great time there. The best-selling guide book calls it “a glorious little hidden place you might find enchanting.” (That isn’t necessarily incorrect, but you need the added sentence, “But beware. People get killed there on a regular basis.”)
So, what is the acceptable ratio? Can we justify one death for every 5,000 people who have a great time there? Or is the number 10,000? Or 30,000? I don’t know, the answer is truly blowin’ in the wind. I do know how bad it is for the victim’s family, and we have had three such families now in the last five years. We also get five to 10 injuries there a year, some of them severe.
I hear people say “Close it off already.” I assume they mean by erecting a high, heavy-duty chain link fence a couple of hundred yards long, so that the access trail from Kipu road won’t work anymore. Local people could maybe still sneak under, over, and around the fence. And kayak tours could still get to the area from their downstream vantage point. (But how long until the new trail “around” the fence would itself become just a new beaten path?)
Other ideas include heavy-duty signage that is clear about the dangers. I’ve met with the trail’s landowners in the past about this, and liability attorneys run the show. It is always their opinion that doing something is worse than doing nothing, because if you do something, and that something turns out not to be enough, then you are in a much more vulnerable liability position than if you stay hidden and removed as far from the picture as possible.
Then there’s the “No trespassing … Violators will be prosecuted” option — making this another closed-off area just like Waipahe‘e slippery slide, Kiluaea slippery slide, Kilauea Crater Hill, etc.
It isn’t clear, by the way, just who is the owner of the falls themselves. Two different landowners own the land on either side of the river, and I believe that there is government jurisdiction involved with the waterway itself.
I sympathize with the trail’s landowners. I know they care and I know they have wrestled with options of what they maybe should or shouldn’t do. I have heard rumors that there is an enterprise which is negotiating a rental agreement with the landowner, and this enterprise would then assume real responsibility for the area, including having a full-time lifeguard at the falls, plus effective signs in the area, plus someone watching the parking area (now we’re talking about county property), where there is always windshield glass on the ground from the cars that are routinely broken into. This enterprise sounds like a great idea to pursue. I assume that there would now be a fee involved for usage, and I trust there would be a kama‘aina arrangement which would still allow local people to use the area.
In the meantime, if our prayers can do anything for the victim’s wife, mother, and 10-year-old son, then please pray for this once-happy family during this holiday season and beyond. And, wish good thoughts for future visitors to the falls. Unfortunately those haven’t proven to be effective enough, and I hope we can put in place some meaningful Kipu Falls safety measures, whatever they may be.
Monty Downs, MD, Wilcox Hospital ER
