07-15-2010, 10:07 AM
Jerry, that was very well spoken. HPP sure is lucky to have you. I agree that Hawai'i is conservative.
Like the comment about tradition, Tom, your response is that the bottleneck doesn't have a long tradition behind it. But the point is not the specific place, but rather that it's traditional to have sign waving, and that people don't fuss about where it happens.
It takes a lot of work to get anything done or anything changed, so yeah, picking battles is good. Like with the County. It's easy to be pegged as a complainer. As an example, not an analogy to the waving, just the one example I have to offer where I got something changed -- I have had to engage with them to do the roadside trimming they're supposed to do, because if they don't it's dangerous coming out of my drive. They had allowed big trees to block the exit visibility, and they needed to be cut.
The first guy made promises and then blew me off. His successor was better. Finally, after 2 1/2 years of intermittent discussions, they cut the trees, but then they let the small brush create the same problem, so I had to call and remind them. Wonder of wonders, they've started clearing it without being called. I'm sort of in shock. The point being, there was an inertia. They didn't regard it as their job, even though legally it was their job. Then they began to accept it as a responsibility, and then once they did that, they worked it into their regular routine. Once it had become "regular" maintenance, it was no problem.
It's all about overcoming inertia, resistance to change. Had I not almost been smashed on numerous occasions, really close calls with serious injury, I would have given up. I definitely don't sweat the small and medium kine problems. You can argue that the bottleneck is really dangerous, and if it is, go for it. If the cars are moving pretty slow and the main danger is fender-benders, then wait and see might work.
Like the comment about tradition, Tom, your response is that the bottleneck doesn't have a long tradition behind it. But the point is not the specific place, but rather that it's traditional to have sign waving, and that people don't fuss about where it happens.
It takes a lot of work to get anything done or anything changed, so yeah, picking battles is good. Like with the County. It's easy to be pegged as a complainer. As an example, not an analogy to the waving, just the one example I have to offer where I got something changed -- I have had to engage with them to do the roadside trimming they're supposed to do, because if they don't it's dangerous coming out of my drive. They had allowed big trees to block the exit visibility, and they needed to be cut.
The first guy made promises and then blew me off. His successor was better. Finally, after 2 1/2 years of intermittent discussions, they cut the trees, but then they let the small brush create the same problem, so I had to call and remind them. Wonder of wonders, they've started clearing it without being called. I'm sort of in shock. The point being, there was an inertia. They didn't regard it as their job, even though legally it was their job. Then they began to accept it as a responsibility, and then once they did that, they worked it into their regular routine. Once it had become "regular" maintenance, it was no problem.
It's all about overcoming inertia, resistance to change. Had I not almost been smashed on numerous occasions, really close calls with serious injury, I would have given up. I definitely don't sweat the small and medium kine problems. You can argue that the bottleneck is really dangerous, and if it is, go for it. If the cars are moving pretty slow and the main danger is fender-benders, then wait and see might work.