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HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES             H.C.R. NO.            H.D. 1
TWENTIETH LEGISLATURE, 2000                                
STATE OF HAWAII                                            
                                                             
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                     HOUSE CONCURRENT
                        RESOLUTION
RELATING TO WAIANAE COAST TRAFFIC PROBLEMS. 


 1       WHEREAS, the Waianae Coast is plagued with numerous traffic
 2   problems, including the lack of an alternative route in times
 3   of emergency, speeding and unsafe drivers, pedestrian safety,
 4   and growing traffic on Farrington Highway due to a growing
 5   Leeward population; and
 6   
 7       WHEREAS, past events such as the non-evacuation of the
 8   Waianae Coast during Hurricane Iwa in 1982, various traffic and
 9   pedestrian fatalities, and a recent hostage standoff have
10   repeatedly brought these issues to the fore; and
11   
12       WHEREAS, funds have been appropriated by the Legislature to
13   conduct studies and planning solutions to the traffic problems
14   that plague the Waianae Coast; and
15   
16       WHEREAS, the aforementioned appropriation of funds, most
17   recently $200,000 in 1995 and $1,000,000 in 1998, shows a good
18   faith effort on the part of the Legislature to address these
19   serious problems; and
20   
21       WHEREAS, half of the 1995 funding lapsed and ninety percent
22   of the 1998 appropriation will lapse at the end of this
23   session; and
24   
25       WHEREAS, the Department of Transportation and the Governor
26   are hesitant to use these funds to address the problem of an
27   alternate route to the Waianae Coast due to the low
28   prioritization with the Department of Transportation,
29   noninclusion within the Oahu Regional Transportation Plan, the
30   "prohibitive" cost, possible lack of traffic, and social and
31   environmental problems; and
32   
33       WHEREAS, these issues, including the alternate route to the
34   Waianae Coast, have been voiced for over two decades and only
35   grow worse over time and with neglect; now, therefore,

 
 
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                                  H.C.R. NO.            H.D. 1
                                                        
                                                        

 
 1   
 2       BE IT RESOLVED, by the House of Representatives of the
 3   Twentieth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session
 4   of 2000, the Senate concurring, that this body requests the
 5   Oahu Metropolitan Planning Organization (OMPO) to include in
 6   their current comprehensive study, or to conduct a
 7   comprehensive updated study which would offer several solutions
 8   to the traffic problems on the Waianae Coast, taking into
 9   account the changes on the Waianae Coast since the last
10   comprehensive study over 20 years ago; and
11   
12       BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that this study should determine
13   the feasibility of each proposed solution and address several
14   issues specifically, including: an alternate route to the
15   Waianae Coast; an emergency route to and from the Waianae Coast
16   to be used in times of emergency; speeding and unsafe driving;
17   pedestrian safety; and increasing traffic flow on Farrington
18   Highway due to a growing population on the Leeward side of
19   Oahu; and
20   
21       BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that OMPO should report the
22   findings and recommendations of the section of their current
23   comprehensive study which deals with the Waianae Coast traffic
24   problems or the findings and recommendations of their updated
25   study to the Legislature no later than twenty days before the
26   convening of the Regular Session of 2002; and
27   
28       BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that a certified copy of this
29   Resolution be transmitted to the Executive Director and Policy
30   Committee Chair of OMPO and the Governor.