Big Island Traffic

[drewb]

sitting in traffic in kona on the big island really pisses me off!!! I mean look at all this open space to put two or three or four more lanes. Are more lanes what I want...no. Are more and more people moving and visiting kona....yes. I can't stop them from coming so please...PLLLEEEEAAASSSEEE give me more lanes and routes.

[Surfingfarmboy]

Re: What pisses you off? - Chapter 3

sitting in traffic in kona on the big island really pisses me off!!! I mean look at all this open space to put two or three or four more lanes. Are more lanes what I want...no. Are more and more people moving and visiting kona....yes. I can't stop them from coming so please...PLLLEEEEAAASSSEEE give me more lanes and routes.

Howzit Drew:

I'm sure sitting in traffic, in Kona of all places, is a frustrating thing, but from what I've read in other posts regarding alleviating the heavy traffic in an around the Honolulu metro area, building more lanes for ever-increasing traffic is not the answer.

The only way I can be analogous to this problem is to take the example of somebody who is obese and gaining weight monthly. No longer able to comfortably fit into his size 38 waist jeans, a tailor gives him size 42s. Sure, it's a temporary fix at best. For a couple of months, the 42s will work fine, but if the cause of the problem is not addressed, (in this case, the weight gain), in short time, the tailor will have to provide our obese friend with size 46s. It will be a never-ending cycle unless the true cause for the weight gain is remedied.

I see adding traffic lanes to Kona in the same light. It will temporarily deal with the traffic, but it will also contribute, in the long run, to more and more cars, trucks, tour-buses, and traffic, by the virtue of giving all the components of traffic gridlock the opportunity to grow even larger. Pretty soon, what was once sufficient traffic lane-wise, is no longer.

I don't have any answer for the traffic gridlock in Kona though. It seems that Kona might be better off with the highway system they have in place now, and somehow find a way to convince South Kona's locals and tourists alike to use alternate means of transportation, when possible.

[drewb]

Re: What pisses you off? - Chapter 3

being from the big island then you know that there are two lanes from Kawaihae to kona...no wait two lanes circle island. Don't know when the last time you were home but this island is bursting at the seams. Ever sat in a line of traffic from maks (mocks) all the way to keauhou? Thats 15 to 20 miles of one lane heading south. Some people sit in that line everyday for 2 or more hours. Alternative means of transportation..........hmmmm, maybe we could grow wings if we wait around long enough for evolution to occur.

[Surfingfarmboy]

Re: What pisses you off? - Chapter 3

being from the big island then you know that there are two lanes from Kawaihae to kona...no wait two lanes circle island. Don't know when the last time you were home but this island is bursting at the seams. Ever sat in a line of traffic from maks (mocks) all the way to keauhou? Thats 15 to 20 miles of one lane heading south. Some people sit in that line everyday for 2 or more hours. Alternative means of transportation..........hmmmm, maybe we could grow wings if we wait around long enough for evolution to occur.

I get home at least once a year, for a minimum of two weeks each trip, and I am aware of the traffic problems, not only on the Big I, but throughout the entire state. Yes, it is frustrating to sit in traffic wherever one is at, and it would be especially so in that 2 hour commute in South Kona you've described.

If you want to alleviate the traffic problems, as they exist now, HIDOT can, if the people of HI want, build the extra traffic lanes on Rt. 11. But, in my opinion, it will be a temporary solution at best. I have the same theory about traffic as Kevin Costner has in the "Field of Dreams" about the baseball diamond, i.e., "Build it and they will come". Build the extra lanes for traffic on 11 and it will come, as sure as the sun will rise in the east every morning. I remember watching a documentary about the Eisenhower Expressway in Chicago. When it was built, it was said that Chicago would "never again" suffer from traffic gridlock. Boy, was that prediction off base and only 10 years after "The Ike" was built.

HIDOT could put in 4 lanes of traffic in each direction on 11, but at some point in the future, it won't be enough...as long as Hawai'i allows the state's population, businesses, and traffic to grow unchecked, gridlock is sure to follow. Then when the 4 lanes in each direction isn't enough, 11 could be double-decked with an expressway, ala H-1 and the Nimitz Hwy. in Honolulu. Yeech!!

It seems to me rather than encourage traffic to grow, by making it easy to temporarily get from point "A" to point "B", keep the highway sytem Kona has in place now, but get Big I residents (and tourists) to utilize, difficult as it may initially be, other means of transportation..the Big I is way over-dependent on the private auto for its basic transportation needs. (The public transit there, if I recall, was pretty lame..it was an all-day affair to take a public bus from Kona to Hilo.) This is what I'm refering to when I say "alternative transportation"..encourage public transit, car pooling, and nurture a philosophy of using one's private auto only when it's necessary...not for trips for things as frivilous as an ice cream sundae.

Building expressways and multi-laned highways in the Kona area is only going to invite more traffic to come, as well promote the erosion and loss of the unique character Kailua-Kona owns now. I think the real problem that needs to be addressed is the population growth in Hawai'i. How much longer can Hawai'i population grow before it becomes unliveable...the next Hong Kong?

[drewb]

Re: What pisses you off? - Chapter 3

smart, well thought out response and I am in full agreement until I'm sitting in traffic on my way for an icecream sundae....jus kiddin'

[sinjin]

Re: What pisses you off? - Chapter 3

Building expressways and multi-laned highways in the Kona area is only going to invite more traffic to come, as well promote the erosion and loss of the unique character Kailua-Kona owns now. I think the real problem that needs to be addressed is the population growth in Hawai'i. How much longer can Hawai'i population grow before it becomes unliveable...the next Hong Kong?

If there isn't one, a thread for this subject would be great IMO. I work for the evil Caltrans in Los Angeles and so have some intimate familiarity with traffic and schemes to alleviate it.

[admin]

Re: What pisses you off? - Chapter 3

If there isn't one, a thread for this subject would be great IMO.

I've split this Big Island traffic discussion off into a separate thread.

[mel]

Re: What pisses you off? - Chapter 3

The root to most if not all of our traffic and housing problems is population. Unfortunately that can't be fixed until a drastic measure is taken to limit incoming migration to Hawaii or any other state for that matter. I think something like a constitutional amendment to prohibit in-migration will be needed in order to limit population growth in the United States. And that may not be a popular option to consider.

[sinjin]

Re: What pisses you off? - Chapter 3

The root to most if not all of our traffic and housing problems is population. Unfortunately that can't be fixed until a drastic measure is taken to limit incoming migration to Hawaii or any other state for that matter. I think something like a constitutional amendment to prohibit in-migration will be needed in order to limit population growth in the United States. And that may not be a popular option to consider.

A sovereign Hawaii might be able to do such a thing as well as prohibit non-resident real estate holdings but freedom of movement is a feature of American life unlikely to change.

[sinjin]

Re: Big Island Traffic

I believe the Big Island will have to upgrade its road network regardless of future growth. There are far too many bad accidents on the west coast right now and the gridlock is beyond belief. Has there not been talk of a separate alignment looping around the southern portion of the island from Kailua-Kona to Hilo higher up on the volcano? I understand the traffic coming from the north of Kailua town is bad now too.

[mel]

Re: What pisses you off? - Chapter 3

A sovereign Hawaii might be able to do such a thing as well as prohibit non-resident real estate holdings but freedom of movement is a feature of American life unlikely to change.

Don't hold your breath on a sovereign Hawaii. It ain't happening anytime soon.

[mel]

Re: Big Island Traffic

I believe the Big Island will have to upgrade its road network regardless of future growth. .... Has there not been talk of a separate alignment looping around the southern portion of the island from Kailua-Kona to Hilo higher up on the volcano?

I think the DOT is starting on a widening project on Queen Kaahumanu Highway from Kailua Kona to the airport.

The problem with a new southern route higher up is the volcano. I heard that an eruption on Mauna Loa's southwestern flank brings lava cascading down that mountain fairly rapidly.

[alohabear]

Re: Big Island Traffic

The county has had YEARS to address the Kona traffic problem. yet is moving at a snail's pace. I think it maybe time to "change" the way the Big Island is set up.The population IMO... is large enough now to divide the island into two separate counties, with separate mayors, councils, etc. That way east hawaii can address the eastside because they know what the east needs and west visa versa.

[sinjin]

Re: Big Island Traffic

The county has had YEARS to address the Kona traffic problem. yet is moving at a snail's pace. I think it maybe time to "change" the way the Big Island is set up.The population IMO... is large enough now to divide the island into two separate counties, with separate mayors, councils, etc. That way east hawaii can address the eastside because they know what the east needs and west visa versa.

Would not "East Hawaii" suffer from the loss of tax revenue if "West Hawaii" went its own way? Do you think the problems on the west side are ignored because the county seat is in Hilo? Realistically the long range transportation planning should accomodate a tripling of the island's population over the next 20 years at the very least.

[alohabear]

Re: Big Island Traffic

I just think because the county seat is 100 miles away , problems on the west take a backseat to the problems they can see .