• Highway action needed • Ban resorts until more roads built • Fun on the bus • Bike Path Highway action needed For years we the residents of Kaua‘i have been saying that something must be done about the traffic
• Highway action needed
• Ban resorts until more roads built
• Fun on the bus
• Bike Path
Highway action needed
For years we the residents of Kaua‘i have been saying that something must be done about the traffic situation, especially along the Kapa‘a-to-Lihu‘e-Airport corridor, and so far the only change has been to make two lanes of traffic starting at the Hanama‘ulu-Kuhio Highway bridge going northbound and coning the same stretch in the morning making two lanes going southbound.
Within a recent two-week period traffic has come to a complete standstill due to three accidents all near the Wailua Golf Course.
I am saying here and now that the time has passed for the residents to allow this to continue any longer.
It is time to demand from our elected officials that an alternate route be made in order for traffic to continue to flow.
Heavy traffic is encountered every day with just the normal amount of cars on the highway without any accidents.
Due to the recent accidents, delays of 45 minutes to an hour and a half along Kuhio Highway have caused hundreds of people to miss their flights, miss their doctor appointments, be late picking up their children from school at the usual time, run out of gas, overheat their car engines and probably never make it to the lua in time.
This situation simply has to stop, and stop now; not next year, not waiting for some committee to investigate and offer testimony that will lead to more lengthy discussions only to have the problem tabled for another two or three years.
There is property out there that no doubt belongs to the plantations, but there are ways of confiscating and/or leasing this property and using the old unused haul-cane roads for private vehicular traffic just as was done in downtown Kapa‘a with the creation of the well-traveled bypass road.
No doubt some of the officers of the plantations themselves use Kuhio Highway from time to time and are aware of this major traffic problem.
Unfortunately, with more resort properties being built in this area, the situation will only get worse unless something is done to correct it.
The time is now for our elected government officials to got off the dime and solve this horrendous problem.
For years the highway department has strangled many offers to purchase the Coco Palms Hotel and Resort by not deciding where to widen the existing roadway.
How difficult is it to see that you can’t widen it through a condominium building, a gas station and a major restaurant, all on the makai side of the road?
It can’t be done.
That leads to the creation of a bypass road far behind the resort.
Bridge it over the Wailua River mauka of Smith’s lu‘au property so as not to disturb the existing homes and other properties along the river.
The residents of Kaua‘i have the power to get this vital change made if they make their voices heard loudly and clearly, and if they vote the proper people into office.
Election time is rapidly approaching, and these people running for office need our votes.
Let’s see if they’re willing to work for us and get this traffic problem solved…now, not later.
Gini Stoddard
Wailua Homesteads
Ban resorts until more roads built
Like Kukui‘Ula in Koloa, developers are putting in a huge resort complex across from Foodland and Safeway malls in Kapa‘a.
This is the most gridlocked area on the whole island.
Without any additional roads to alleviate the congestion of this resort complex and the Kapa‘a-Wailua corridor, this is extremely damaging and insulting to the people of Kaua‘i.
No more development until there are more roads for cars — duh!
Toshe Maclaine
Kapa‘a
Fun on the bus
I am a visitor who stayed at Mokihana for two months, December and January.
I didn’t rent a car this year, and was told by a local the cost of a bus pass was only $15.
I immediately bought one.
I enjoyed the bus rides.
They were always happy times, meeting locals and visitors alike.
The bus drivers were friendly and humorous, and the buses were usually on time, except if there was heavy traffic or an accident, which would delay every driver.
I really enjoyed the bus!
Joan De Lain
British Columbia, Canada
Bike Path
A few days ago I stood on the lovely lawn fronting the Kapaa Sands Resort, in Wailua, where I’ve been employed for over 13 years.
I was trying to visualize a 10-foot-wide path running just feet from our buildings, with bike riders, skateboarders and joggers running by.
I’ve tried to visualize what had to be done to construct this path. What happened to the green sea turtles? Where did they go? Where are the monk seals going to rest?
How about the local families and fishermen that frequent Papaloa cove? Where are they going now?
The heiau fronting Lae Nani. What will the impact be on these sacred grounds?
These questions are valid, and there are serious grounds for my worries.
There is a very simple solution. Put the path along Papaloa Road. Eliminate the threat to our delicate environment, save a great deal of money, and still have a wonderful path for all to enjoy.
Nancy Candela
Wailua
