From CERGing News- Charles Flaherty

Developer/County Announces Plan To Worsen Traffic In Kona
Hawaii Development Corporation (HDC), the County, and Planning Director Chris Yuen announced a traffic signal has been planned for the intersection of Malulani Drive and Queen Ka’ahumanu Highway. The need for this traffic signal was created by County approvals that now include a commercial access onto the Highway from the 70-acre commercial property being developed by HDC for Lowe’s and other as-yet-unknown businesses. A Lowe’s store/garden center with over 3 acres under one roof is already approved. Pier 1 is also expressing interest in this location.

HDC, a Minnesota-based corporation registered in Delaware, obtained rezoning for the property bordering Border’s Books by representing that the commercial development would be a boutique-store shopping center. That original plan reflected and would have enhanced the Kailua community’s desire to maintain its village atmosphere and appearance. HDC made these representations both in writing and in public testimony. HDC further represented that the amount of traffic generated by the proposed boutique shopping center would require only one access onto Henry St. across from the Wal-Mart entrance.

HDC has unfortunately joined the growing ranks of out-of-state developers that are being enabled by the County administration to subvert the will of the greater West Hawaii community. These developers are being allowed to present one plan for rezoning and permits, only to subsequently change to a more high-impact plan after rezoning and permits are granted. Rather than a relatively lower-impact boutique-store shopping center, the Kim administration approved a commercial development with high-impact, high volume tenant businesses. A representative of HDC stated that the current plans are in keeping with existing commercial development in this area, citing Wal-Mart and Safeway, rather than Kailua Village.

This representative also stated that HDC plans to develop an adjacent 108-acre parcel with 200 apartments and 200 single-family residences. Another developer with an adjacent 15-acre parcel also intends to obtain commercial zoning. Therefore, with 70-acres already under development, almost 200 acres of commercial/high-density urban development is being planned to empty onto Henry St. and Queen Ka’ahumanu Highway at Malulani Drive.

These plans, together with the additional traffic signal at Queen Ka’ahumanu Highway and Malulani Drive with another traffic signal in the future at Pualani Terrace, will undoubtedly result in unacceptable delays and congestion at a time when traffic levels of service in Kona are already at the minimum requirements of the U.S. Department of Transportation (D or “desirable minimum”). The pending substantial increase of traffic onto Queen Ka’ahumanu Highway from Malulani Drive reflects the County Department of Public Works (DPW) continuing failure to provide access management on regional arterial roadways. Access management has already been identified as a County problem by a County consultant, Townscape, hired to develop a Keahole-Honaunau regional traffic circulation plan.

Good access management occurs when arterial roadways have less than 20 access points within each mile. Restricting the number of access points reduces accident rates while at the same time increasing traffic flow. Roads with less than 20 access points average 2 accidents per mile annually. Roads with more the 20 access points per mile have 4 accidents per mile or twice as many. Townscape found that the County DPW has not considered access management at all.

Queen Ka’ahumanu Highway, a State highway, was cited by Townscape as being the one Kona traffic arterial that had still had reasonably good traffic circulation. Now the County Planning Department and DPW are actively working to disable the Kona community’s last remaining relatively limited-access, unimpeded arterial roadway simply to enable a private developer (HDC), who has thus far not fully disclosed the cumulative effect of full commercial development of this area.

Given the impending failure of traffic circulation in our community, it is time for the residents of Kona to take action. Some options for action:
A legislative moratorium on rezoning and building permits in North Kona, except for affordable housing units, on the basis of endangerment of the public health, safety, and welfare by our government.
Creating alternative means for transportation (light rail, regional bus system, community-based carpooling, etc.) to reduce roadway usage.
Community-based regional plans to avoid a quality-of-life disaster.

Meanwhile, a hearing is currently set for November 7, 2002 in the Third Circuit Court at 8 am to hear Malulani Gardens residents’ complaints against HDC. These residents are opposing the planned commercial access from Lowe’s through Malulani Gardens. Meetings have already been held by representatives of all parties, but no settlement has thus far resulted.