HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

H.R. NO.

142

TWENTY-SECOND LEGISLATURE, 2003

 

STATE OF HAWAII

 
   


HOUSE RESOLUTION

 

URGING THE DEPARTMENt of accounting and General services to Establish AN INTERGOVERNMENTAL-COMMUNITY TASK FORCE TO COORDINATE A PLAN FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF AN ALTERNATIVE ACCESS ROAD TO KAILUA HIGH SCHOOL in kAILUA, O'AHU.

 

 

WHEREAS, Kailua High School is located in the heart of a residential community serving residents of both Kailua and Waimanalo; and

WHEREAS, there is only a single 19-foot wide roadway permitting access to both its campus and its playing fields; and

WHEREAS, considerable concerns have been raised about access by emergency vehicles when events including, but not limited to, athletic contests, graduation exercises, and special scheduled events held at the school frequently clog the Pohakupu subdivision with traffic and parked cars; and

WHEREAS, right turns from Kalanianaole Highway into the Pohakupu subdivision were banned following a series of pedestrian accidents and property damage, the result of which forced students from Waimanalo, Enchanted Lake and Keolu Hills and their parents to compete with 9000 vehicles entering the intersection at Castle Medical Center in rush-hour traffic; and

WHEREAS, the new entrance would take those hundreds of vehicles out of that daily bottleneck at the Castle Medical Center intersection, reducing both illegal cut-through traffic through the Olomana and Pohakupu subdivisions and protecting younger school children walking to Maunawili Elementary School; and

WHEREAS, the many families from Waimanalo and Kailua who have children attending Kailua High School would benefit from another access road by constructing a new road that connects directly with Kalanianaole Highway; and

WHEREAS, there has been documented substantial and consistent community support for an alternative access road from both Kailua and Waimanalo Neighborhood Boards; and

WHEREAS, the City & County of Honolulu in the Mayor's July 17, 2001 letter has agreed to provide the maintenance of the new road, allowing the Board of Water Supply to be able to utilize the new access road and not having to rebuild its currently eroded access road; and

WHEREAS, offers of material assistance have been made by tree local corporations which would considerably offset costs incurred by the State of Hawaii; and

WHEREAS, residents in the area, while supporting the schools' activities are nonetheless continually subjected to excessive noise from cars, trucks, and busses as early as 5:00 a.m. and as late as midnight and traffic beyond what is safe and reasonably expected in a suburban residential community; and,

WHEREAS, the array of issues including funding, security, planning, engineering, design, maintenance, and community consensus can only be successfully resolved by coordination with the various agencies equipped to deal with these issues; and

WHEREAS, the expertise is available through such agencies as the State Departments of Education, Transportation, and Public Safety, the City & County of Honolulu, the Department of Transportation Services, the Board of Water Supply, the Kailua Neighborhood Board, the Waimanalo Neighborhood Board, the Olomana, Pohakupu/Kukanono Community Association, and private businesses within the communities; and

WHEREAS, it is recognized that an alternative road which combines access, safety, and security be planned with the participation of the above mentioned agencies and also to include the Honolulu Fire Department, the Honolulu Police Department, Castle Medical Center, the Alumni Association of Kailua High School, and the administration and faculty of Kailua High School; and other agencies and individuals; now therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Twenty-Second Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2003, that this body requests the Department of Accounting and General Services establish an intergovernmental-community task force to develop a plan to design an alternative access road which involves a public/private partnership ensuring safe transit for the benefit of students, drivers, pedestrians, and security for residents of both the subdivision and of the adjacent secure facility; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that this task force provide a comprehensive report of its findings and recommendations twenty days prior to the convening of the 2005 Session of the Hawaii State Legislature; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Resolution be transmitted to the Department of Accounting and General Services, Department of Education, Department of Transportation, Department of Public Safety, City and County of Honolulu Department of Transportation Services, Board of Water Supply, Kailua Neighborhood Board, Waimanalo Neighborhood Board, and the Olomana, Pohakupu/Kukanono Community Associations.

 

 

OFFERED BY:

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Report Title:

Kailua Access Road, Intergovernmental task force