Governor's East Hawaii Council of Advisors Meeting

[ulbobo]

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PRESS RELEASE

Governor’s East Hawai`i Council of Advisors
Contact: Dylan Nonaka, Governor’s Liaison, East Hawai`i
75 Aupuni Street, Hilo, HI 96720
Telephone: 974-6262 Fax: 9746263
e-mail: Dylan.Nonaka@hawaii.gov


Meeting Announcement
Governor’s East Hawai`i Council of Advisors February 2007 Meeting

ROUNDABOUTS FOR PUNA

At the September 2006 meeting of the Governor’s East Hawai`i Council of Advisors, at Maku`u Marketplace, 125 residents of Puna met to express their manao on traffic hazard issues related to Highway 130, the Kea`au – Pahoa Road. The message was clear:

“More cars moving faster on Highway 130 are NOT what Puna needs."

A consistent theme in the testimonies from Puna residents was traffic crashes and traffic congestion at the intersections of: Shower Drive, Kaloli Drive, Pohaku Drive, Paradise Road, Orchidland Road, Maku`u Road, Ainaloa Road, Pahoa Town Entrance (Road A), Kahakai Blvd. and the Leilani Estates Entrance.

PROBLEM: Intersection crashes account for more than 45 percent of all crashes Nationwide.

SOLUTION: Roundabouts are a proven safety solution that prevent and reduce the severity of intersection crashes.

Source: http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/crt/marketready/roundabouts.pdf

What is a roundabout?

According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety: “Modern roundabouts were developed in the United Kingdom in the 1960s and now are widely used in many countries. The modern roundabout is a circular intersection with design features that promote safe and efficient traffic flow. At roundabouts in the United States, vehicles travel counterclockwise around a raised center island, with entering traffic yielding the right-of-way to circulating traffic. Entering vehicles negotiate a curve sharp enough to slow speeds to about 15-20 mph. Within the roundabout and as vehicles exit, slow speeds are maintained by the deflection of traffic around the center island and the relatively tight radius of the roundabout and exit lanes. Slow speeds aid in the smooth movement of vehicles into, around, and out of a roundabout. “

Surprisingly, residents of various Puna subdivisions served by Highway 130 voiced a great interest in modern roundabouts as a safe, efficient, aesthetically pleasing solution for improving traffic conditions at major intersections along Highway 130. A request from Puna residents to find someone who could answer questions about modern roundabouts resulted in the Governor’s East Hawai`i Council of Advisors choosing Mr. Eric Worrell, P.E., Engineer with the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) – Hawai`i Division, as their guest speaker for the February 2007 Council meeting.


Mr. Worrell can tell us everything we need to know about roundabouts, including the availability of Federal funding for roundabout construction and how incorporating Context Sensitive Solutions (CSS) principles in all aspects of the planning and the project development process can improve the environmental quality of highways, including corridors with multiple intersections such as Highway 130 and Highway 11.



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EVENT: Governors East Hawai`i Council of Advisors Monthly Meeting
DATE: February 22, 2007
TIME: 6:00pm – 9:00pm
LOCATION: Kea`au Elementary School Cafeteria
TOPIC: Roundabouts in Puna
GUEST SPEAKER: Eric Worrell, Federal Highway Administration – Hawai`i

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We encourage everyone to submit written testimony, with regards to traffic hazards and traffic crashes along Highway 130 and Highway 11, when you arrive at the meeting.

For more information about roundabouts, including a video about how roundabouts work, please visit, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety Website, at the following URL:

Questions & Answers: Roundabouts
URL: http://www.iihs.org/research/qanda/roundabouts.html

[Kelena]

Great post. Roundabouts work. I have spent a total of five days in Puna. During those five days I saw two crashes near Ainaloa. People need to slow down. They will only slow down if there is something in their way. That something can be a nice "island" with palm trees and landscaping.

[Royall]

A big portion of the people moving to Puna is retired people so it is easy for them to say, “Slow down”. The reality though is most people still have to work thus have to commute. The speed limit is 55 mph but there are many locals and retired people that drive 40 to 45 because they are in no hurry not commuting to a job. That the causes a big back up of angry drivers that then pass on the right or make risky passes on the left at any opportunity.

Roundabouts sound like a good idea but I don’t think they will work here. Part of the reason I feel that way is mainly due to the local women drivers and older people. They can’t seem to “merge” into traffic let alone try to negotiate a roundabout. They are easily intimidated and will stop in the merge lane and wait for a “BIG” opening before proceeding, again holding up traffic. One easy fix would be to add more merge lanes and make the ones we do have longer for easier traffic flow. Then TRY to educate the people to use them correctly

I’m NOT anti-local or retired people as I’m getting there way to fast as it is! It is just the way it is out there on the hi-ways of the Big Island. Until we better educate that portion of the public, things will not get better with any amount of new lanes or hi-ways.

Please don’t yell at me for my views. I’m only expressing my frustration of the situation as I see it and of those that I have talked with who feel the same way.


Royall

What goes around comes around!

[Kahunascott]

I agree with Royall Round-Abouts aren’t the answer for Hwy 130.
For all his reasons and because they aren’t adjustable to traffic flow, they are a monument. Rush hour traffic will screech to a halt.
I hate traffic lights, but…….if you add some that are timed (Synchronized along the road) it will provide traffic flow on the main drag and still let traffic out of the side streets safely. Furthermore, it will separate traffic in to smaller bunches instead of one mass of vehicles moving at 3 mph. If a traffic loop is added (Tripped by a car on the side street) the light will stay green on the main roadway and only change on command from the sensor.





Edited by - kahunascott on 01/24/2007 12:36:34

Edited by - kahunascott on 01/24/2007 12:37:23

[Keith]

We have had round about for about two years now and the resistance is growing softer. What they do is eleminate people running lights or rolling stops threw stop signs, this is a big problem here. It's not the answer too all the problem drivers but it can help.
I like the rules of the road in Europe where the left lane is for passing till it's clear then you go over to the right lane. If the car in the left is not following this rule going slow and not allowing traffic to move then they can get a ticket but drivers usually let them know that they are in the way by flashing the head lights.

Keith

[Royall]

Blinking the headlights... You get the stink eye or the blank unknowing look. Basic rules of the road are unknow in Hawaii.

Royall

What goes around comes around!

[Da Stef]

generally speaking I find roundabouts a bit scary, but I guess you'd get used to them. But I have NEVER seen them on a highway. wouldn't they slow you down too much (and to often) to make sense in this situation?

[Les C]

I don't think the European rules of the road will work for Hwy 130 because there's only one lane traveling in each direction, aside from the cut-off from Hwy 11. There seems to be little backup on that four-lane section, so perhaps there's some clue there.

[Poiboy]

Aloha all,
I lived in England from birth to twenty-three years old. I remember riding with my stepfather in his Zephyr 6 along the A1 ( London to Edinborough ), a 350mile long, four lane road without clover leaf overpasses. There was a roundabout to handle almost every intersection .These roundabouts were not small. The diameter of an effective roundabout is at least twice the width of the road ( If only there were no lots adjacent to highway 130- - - - Sigh!- - - Lets not go there ), and that’s just the landscaped circular area in the middle. Drivers pass quickly through the roundabout when there is no traffic entering from the side road, and have plenty of room for merging when the traffic is heavy. After the experience of merging at the Pahoa end of the Kea’au bypass the roundabouts would be quite tolerable. There are thousands of roundabouts in Britain. Hitch-hikers like them because they slow down ALL the traffic enough for it to be easier for drivers to pull off the road safely.
Of course, we would not need more, faster, wider, straighter, smoother roads ( maybe with high quality cats eyes! ), if we drove a lot less. Mmmmmmmm- - - - How could we manage to pull that off? A hui hou.

[Beachboy]

quote:

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A big portion of the people moving to Puna is retired people so it is easy for them to say, “Slow down”. The reality though is most people still have to work thus have to commute. The speed limit is 55 mph but there are many locals and retired people that drive 40 to 45 because they are in no hurry not commuting to a job. That the causes a big back up of angry drivers that then pass on the right or make risky passes on the left at any opportunity.

Roundabouts sound like a good idea but I don’t think they will work here. Part of the reason I feel that way is mainly due to the local women drivers and older people. They can’t seem to “merge” into traffic let alone try to negotiate a roundabout. They are easily intimidated and will stop in the merge lane and wait for a “BIG” opening before proceeding, again holding up traffic. One easy fix would be to add more merge lanes and make the ones we do have longer for easier traffic flow. Then TRY to educate the people to use them correctly

I’m NOT anti-local or retired people as I’m getting there way to fast as it is! It is just the way it is out there on the hi-ways of the Big Island. Until we better educate that portion of the public, things will not get better with any amount of new lanes or hi-ways.

Please don’t yell at me for my views. I’m only expressing my frustration of the situation as I see it and of those that I have talked with who feel the same way.


Royall

What goes around comes around!

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it would appear that the local drivers are "terrible road cowards",but let me try to explain it to you. Why do you suppose you get stink eye when you flash your lights? Locals know nothing about merging traffic! Why do we have to anyway? Before the big influx of ''Baby Boomers'',here to Puna, locals only had to 'proceed with caution'! That is the mentality of two lane traffic 'island style'. I even see this style of driving in Honolulu too. People at a dead stop waiting to get onto H1. We know it's risky driving,but tell that to the outer island driver and see what kind of a look you get!

Royall, to avoid any 'stink eye' remember this old cliche,"when in Rome do as the Romans do".