Traffic

[one3cap]

if i work in honolulu regular hours 8-5 m-f and live outside town anywhere like 10-20 miles away is traffic really as bad as people say it is. the reason why i am asking is after work will i still have time to have daylight to go to the beach surf make it to sandy's because or am i just stuck in traffic? is it even worth it? aloha

[Glen Miyashiro]

Sounds like you live someplace else and have never seen Honolulu for yourself. The answer is, if that's your schedule then you're not gonna make it to the beach during daylight hours. The guys who surf every day usually have shifted their work schedules to allow them to do either the dawn patrol or a pau hana set.

[pzarquon]

I don't surf, but I shift my work hours a bit to avoid the very peak of traffic. Leaving Mililani for downtown (about 20 miles) at 5:30 a.m. takes half an hour. Leaving downtown for Mililani at 4:15 p.m. takes about 40 minutes. If I left home at 7 a.m., or left work at 5 p.m., those travel times are significantly longer. Throw in a stall or an accident, and... well, it's a nightmare.

I don't know what the travel times are for East Honolulu, but it ain't pretty out that way, either (though probably better than for, say, Ewa residents!). Who knows, maybe you could get to Sandy Beach before sunset, but you'd probably want to be living out that way too... and that ain't a cheap neighborhood.

During the summer, I suppose I could get to the North Shore before 6 p.m., and get in some surfing as the sun sets... but I don't know if it'd be worth that drive. And during the winter, forget it.

[Menehune Man]

I live in Makiki, which is East of where I work in mid-Kalihi. I start work at 4pm. Instead of using the freeway, I drive all along School street. I really believe it's faster. Of course getting off at midnight is a breeze on the freeway drive home.

[tutusue]

[...]I don't know what the travel times are for East Honolulu, but it ain't pretty out that way, either (though probably better than for, say, Ewa residents!).[...]
Yesterday I found myself at the end of an appointment at 5p in Moiliili. I'm house sitting in East Honolulu (Waialae Iki) and considered returning to my office in Kakaako to wait out the traffic. Then I decided to just go to Kahala Mall, grocery shop at Star, then head the short distance to Waialae Iki. I got on the freeway near the Humane Society, anticipating the need to exit at 6th Ave., and it was clear sailing all the way. I didn't take my planned detour! Looking ahead from the Laukahi St. turn, it wasn't bumper to bumper. Sure, there were quite a few cars but my worst 5p traffic fears didn't materialize. Was yesterday a holiday and I missed it? :confused:

Heading ewa is a completely different story. To avoid the 'rush hour' I used to be able to leave my office at 6:15p and make it home to Makaha in 50-55 min. Now I have to wait 'til 7:15 and even then there's a lot of traffic but it's not bumper to bumper. Usually takes me 60-70 min.

I miss the good ol' days!!! :rolleyes:

[craigwatanabe]

I remember when I lived in Waialae Nui Valley and had to go to work in Kakaako. I'd enter the H-1 between 6:30 and 6:35am and I'd have smooth sailing until I exited at the Kapiolani offramp, heading into town thru Kapiolani Blvd.

If I didn't hit that 5-minute window on the Waialae on-ramp either before or after there was always excessive traffic on the freeway. It was like a very small window of opportunity from that on-ramp. At 6:35am if I entered the Waialae on-ramp I could see the stampede of cars coming from Hawaii Kai in my rear view mirror and basically open roadway up ahead.

But if you want to see a sight to behold, try going to the Kakaako state park around 7am. There you'll see many minivans filled with families eating breakfast. These aren't homeless people with nowhere to go, these are commuters from West Oahu who drove into town in the wee hours of the morning to avoid the morning rush hour traffic.

What's sad is that they paid a mint for a home in Kapolei where the bedrooms are about as big as my closet and yet they cannot enjoy it because they're on the road early in the morning, at work or in school during the day, then on the road again in the early evening. When they get home it's a quick shower then off to bed because they have to get up before sunrise to beat the morning jam.

Then on the weekends they go out and their brand new house sits unused again. That's why I never opted to move or buy anything west of Downtown Honolulu. And that's why when housing prices got out of range for me for the areas I wanted to live in, I opted to move to the Big Island where a total change of pace brought peace to my life and my family's.

[tutusue]

I could never live where I live and work where I work if it weren't for 3 very important factors...
...An office that can double as a 'crash pad', complete with it's own full bath and a closet!
...Never having to commute during peak traffic hours.
...The ability to telecommute from home during the early stages of each project.

Those factors make Makaha very doable! Thank goodness!

[Miulang]

Be grateful you're not Dave Givens (http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory?id=1867064), from Mariposa, CA who drives 370 miles (and 7 hours) every day to work and back in order to have a good job AND a nice house in the suburbs! :eek: What's worse, he says he does it because it gives him a balance between his home and professional life (um Dave, when do you get to be at home to enjoy your life if you're on the road for almost a third of it???)

Miulang

[pzarquon]

But if you want to see a sight to behold, try going to the Kakaako state park around 7am. There you'll see many minivans filled with families eating breakfast. These aren't homeless people with nowhere to go, these are commuters from West Oahu who drove into town in the wee hours of the morning to avoid the morning rush hour traffic.Reminds me of my UH days. Commuting from Mililani was always a nightmare, of course. So even with a 9:30 a.m. first class, I'd still be on the road by 5:30 a.m., and parked along a Manoa curb by 6 a.m. I'd be among a whole village of other commuting students sleeping in their cars well into the morning.

What's sad is that they paid a mint for a home in Kapolei where the bedrooms are about as big as my closet and yet they cannot enjoy it because they're on the road early in the morning, at work or in school during the day, then on the road again in the early evening. When they get home it's a quick shower then off to bed because they have to get up before sunrise to beat the morning jam.Indeed. I leave home before most of my family is awake (although our middle son has a tendency to be up by 4:30 a.m.!). I leave downtown early enough to be home for a 6 p.m. dinner (and even cook it some of the time!), and summers afford some precious time to be out and about with the kids... but on days I work late, or in the winter, it seems like I barely see my kids at all.

You write so well of your escape from Honolulu and new life on the Big Island, Craig, it always leaves me aching with envy. My wife and I would do anything to make the same move. Some day, some day... by which point, of course, homes on the Big Island will cost about as much as they do in Honolulu today. Sob!

[Eric]

I grew up in Pearl City and even back then I thought it was too far from town, traffic-wise. Now, it's even worse. When we were looking for a house, I set my search limits at Kaimuki and Kalihi; no further east or west than that. These days I live in Kalihi Valley, close enough that I can bicycle to work. That is, when I don't need to run errands or give rides.

[craigwatanabe]

One thing I didn't like about Kalihi is the closeness of your neighbors. My wife used to live in Kalihi in her younger days and her shower was outside in a makeshift totung stall. One wall was right up against the neighbor's patio so she could hear the bruddahs drinking when she showered, not a pleasant way to get clean.

Out here in Keaau, I live on 41,000 square feet or just over one acre of land near the ocean. Closeness isn't an issue with your neighbor (if you have one) and nights are quiet with an ocassional Coqui Frog chirping in the distance and the air is clear enough to see the band of stars we call our Milky Way and the distant glow of the Pohoiki vent spewing lava into the ocean. The noise I hear is from the crashing surf on the rocks on the nearby shore. The sounds and sights of nature is what envelopes my property day or night and is so much of a blessing rather than the continuous rush of car sounds, alarms, sirens and even planes. It's just bliss compared to Honolulu.

And the traffic? Yeah we got it on the Pahoa highway as more and more Honolulu expatriates move in but it's nothing quite like the madness of Oahu's traffic nightmare.

Yes Big Island prices are getting up there, but it's softening as well and you can still find a really really nice home on an acre of land for less than $400,000. My home is valued at just over a half million dollars and if placed anywhere on Oahu it's value would be over $1.5 million. It's that nice of a home. Like I said before you get a lot of BLING for half the cost here in Keaau. You save so much you don't have to work as hard or at all to afford the luxury of fine living. If you have a million dollar home on Oahu you could sell it and buy the same house for less than half and use the rest to invest then retire 20 years before social security kicks in.

It's really nice to retire at 46 knowing in 19 years your pension, social security, 401k and IRA's will kick in later to suppliment your investment income. I'm at home and it's almost 11am. Where are/were you one hour before lunch on any given weekday let alone a Friday? That's why I'm all over this board because I don't have to work unless I want to and I'm only 46-years old. I tell my Honolulu friends they can live this dream too! Quitting my job at the Gas Company after 22-1/2 years and moving here to the Big Island was the best thing that ever happened to me next to getting married to my lovely wife Brenda.

And the traffic? What Traffic! I told the cop that busted me for blazing a path in my BMW that it was nice to be able to open it up and clear the pipes. You can't do that on Oahu. :D

[kimo55]

I usta drink wit da blalahs right next to a neigbor's shower stall. Not a pleasant way to enjoy primo.

[craigwatanabe]

Musta been my sister in law's den :D Oh wow I going get dirty lickin's from dat wahine.

[tutusue]

Be grateful you're not Dave Givens (http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory?id=1867064), from Mariposa, CA who drives 370 miles (and 7 hours) every day to work and back in order to have a good job AND a nice house in the suburbs! :eek: What's worse, he says he does it because it gives him a balance between his home and professional life (um Dave, when do you get to be at home to enjoy your life if you're on the road for almost a third of it???)

Miulang
This article was of special interest to me as I once had an extreme commute, allowing at least 2 1/2 hours in the morning for a 60 mile drive...SoCal; Laguna Beach to Hollywood. And this was during the mid 70s. Can't imagine what that would be like now! Impossible, I suppose. Anyway, I can relate to Dave's attitude...if he's single (the article doesn't mention his family status). I turned the drive into my 'alone time', purchased a car I loved to drive and had a great stereo system (8 track :D ) installed. However, I had kids and the commute got very old very fast for all of us!

I'd never, ever consider doing that again! From what I've heard from friends in SoCal, 3 hour daily commutes aren't unusual. What I found unusual was that only 3000 people responded to the contest! I wonder what the prize was?! A new muffler?! :D With current gas prices (the news showed a Los Angeles gas station's premium price at $4.29/gal. :eek: ), how do people do it? I drive approx. 6000 miles per year (that's all, really!) and even that's expensive.

Maybe Dave's hobby is driving! :rolleyes:

[adrian]

I commute from Waipahu into town for the past few years and it takes me 1 hour via the bus. I'm sure that it'll take drivers about 30 minutes if they leave at my time.

[tutusue]

I commute from Waipahu into town for the past few years and it takes me 1 hour via the bus. I'm sure that it'll take drivers about 30 minutes if they leave at my time.
What time is that, Adrian?