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Pete - I know where you are coming from when suggesting the side roads be closed, but am not sure this will actually fix the problem in this particular case. I don't think the delays are due to the stop lights, rather it's the bottle neck itself. Even if all traffic joined the bypass at Hwy 11, the same volume will be trying to get through the bottleneck so I can't see that helping.
What's worse now, as I discovered this evening, is the merge is now rather sudden (the signs say the shoulder is closed but fail to mention the right lane is also closed close to the merge). So now we're going to get surprised drivers for a few weeks and that won't help the jam.
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Ola'a route has been best lately, gates would sure suck.
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alternatives routs around mess...
going towards Volcano from Kea'au on hwy11
1. between mile marker 9-10 (just before J.HaraStore/7-11) take a left on Ola'a Road, less than a mile down narrow road there is a 'T' it will take you to Orchidland (left at 'T') or Road 11 in Hawaiian Acres (right at 'T', very rough), and can go all the way to Ainaloa/Tiki Gardens area then down to hwy130 before Maku'u Market area via Orchidland... 75% of this way the road sucks, but may get you home fast than the crawl!
2. almost a mile past 7-11 (slightly before mile marker 11) take a left on Kuauli Road, take right at 'T', a short time later bend to the left then follow Road 8 in Hawaiian Acres all the way to end of pavement (about 4.5 miles), take left, then 1st right and (trick is to follow the 'yellow line') then first left, then down to hwy130 through Ainaloa... all nice pavement (with one cool jump on Road 8 lol), and should be faster to Pahoa and beyond.
good luck
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save our indigenous and endemic Hawaiian Plants... learn about them, grow them, and plant them on your property, ....instead of all that invasive non-native garbage I see in most yards... aloha
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save our indigenous and endemic Hawaiian Plants... learn about them, grow them, and plant them on your property, ....instead of all that invasive non-native garbage I see in most yards... aloha
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"alternatives routs around mess..."
Or, if it's possible, change your work and/or commute hours. I know that's impossible for most though. Tonight at 7pm it wasn't too bad, but that's relatively speaking...
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"back way" from Pahoa is through Ainaloa, up to Hawaiian Acres/8 road
Yes, and the residents of Hawaiian Acres just LOVE it when people cut through their "private" subdivision.
Police are ticketing speeders on Rd 8 in Hawaiian Acres daily
Any ticket written to an HA landowner is subject to court challenge.
The Ola'a route is private roads for residents and guests of Orchidland
I believe Ola'a is a "real" road, however, 40th is definitely "subdivision private". (The connector is a piece of Old Volcano Trail which may or may not be RIL.)
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"Even if all traffic joined the bypass at Hwy 11, the same volume will be trying to get through the bottleneck so I can't see that helping.”
Tom, the merge is still an obstacle, but I don’t think it is the largest factor. While I don’t commute, the times we have been caught in the afternoon madness (usually returning from the airport), I have noticed a change over the years. As more drivers became courteous and used the “zipper” style (as Greg named it here a long time ago), the merge became much smoother and more efficient.
The point of closing the side roads is that traffic will move continuously, not stop and go. I think a far larger “portion of the variance” of the backup is due to the stopping and starting rather than the merge (at least until some large saturation volume of cars is reached). I’m sure there’s an analogy to hydrodynamics here. In any event, on the human level, continuous movement certainly seems far preferable to a long stop and a short go. I would be willing to bet a continuous flow would reduce the transit time through the bypass compared to the current situation of multiple stoplights and left turns.
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quote:
Yes, and the residents of Hawaiian Acres just LOVE it when people cut through their "private" subdivision.
The Ola'a route is private roads for residents and guests of Orchidland
I believe Ola'a is a "real" road, however, 40th is definitely "subdivision private". (The connector is a piece of Old Volcano Trail which may or may not be RIL.)
If I understand correctly, the paved sections connecting 11 to 130 through HA and Ainaloa is county paved/maintained. The residents along those roads gave up their rights as a private subdivision the day they greeted the county workers bringing smooth roads to their driveways.
Agreed that Ola'a though rough, is not Orchidland's problem. 40th is chipseal at our expense until it ends. Then it gets really rough from there to where the chipseal begins again on Pohaku. For those reading this forum who aren't residents/guests of Orchidland who are considering this route, be aware that if it's raining hard Pohaku has a stretch that floods bad enough to sweep your car off the road (there are markers on the roadsides that gauge the number of feet the water is, to help you make a decision... you will notice it as it is the only stretch of road in OLE that I'm aware of that is concrete). If you see rushing water on the road, don't drown, turn around.
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No backup at the merge around 5:15 Thursday evening... smooth sailing right on through.
"I'm at that stage in life where I stay out of discussions. Even if you say 1+1=5, you're right - have fun." - Keanu Reeves
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I have seen a huge increase in traffic volume in Hilo as well recently. I have no idea why. I guess it could be UH, but it just seems larger than usual. Maybe UH, combined with disaster relief traffic and lava sightseeing traffic? No clue.
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There's road work on the bay front, so a lot of traffic is getting diverted into downtown Hilo.
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