• Questions surround Tiger grant Questions surround Tiger grant Since this Tiger grant was brought forward a year ago, many controversial questions have been asked about it. And since our local government has secured the $16 million grant and work on
• Questions surround Tiger grant
Questions surround Tiger grant
Since this Tiger grant was brought forward a year ago, many controversial questions have been asked about it. And since our local government has secured the $16 million grant and work on it is not projected to start until 2018, confusion abounds.
Though TGI reported that the grant was designated for the revitalization of Lihue Town Core, the County Council introduced resolution 2016-57 that states the grant is for reconfiguring Rice and adjoining streets with bike lanes, restricted parking, wider side walks and eliminating two lanes but adding an “arrow ” turn lane in the middle of the road, the same as has been done in Kapaa. Since this configuration has been a failure in Kapaa, why are we even thinking about doing it on Rice Street? Thus we appear to have two conflicting views of what this grant is for.
Our main objective for all vehicle users on Kauai is to get traffic moving, and all this proposed reconfiguration on Rice Street is going to do is make it worse.
In his fine letter to the Forum of Oct. 22, Pete Nilsen asks two excellent questions — how can it possibly take three years from getting the grant to having work begin and how could it possibly take $16 million to basically “painting lines on the roadways” for parking and bikes?
The major question I have is whether or not the feds were given the proper information to get this grant. And if they were, why is there still confusion about how reconfiguring Rice Street will somehow revitalize the Lihue Town Core?
Does any engineer or official believe that by jamming up traffic along Rice Street it will miraculously revitalize the entire area?
We need wider and alternate (cane haul) roads to alleviate traffic … our number one problem … and not waste tax money on some dream plan.
Joe Rosa, Lihue
