01-23-2007, 04:37 PM
The new shopping center in Pahoa is already creating traffic safety issues, due in large part to the design of its connection to 130. It also looks and feels somewhat like a strip mall, but nobody seems to want to call it that. Or maybe it looks like an abortive attempt at a small downtown, only surrounding a parking lot instead of an attractive square. Interconnectivity and better landscaping would have been nice.
As far as that new route out of Puna, it will take a lot of effort to come up with something that both works and disrupts the least possible number of homes. Many of my neighbors here in HPP are ready to fight any highway that crosses the subdivision. I think it should be considered, but with a LOT of conditions. Adding to the difficulty is the fact that the State Highway Dept. has its rather heavy-handed momentum behind four-laning 130 before they turn to other options. I seem to recall that the EIS for four-laning has already been ordered.
No easy answers, and nothing is going to happen very fast. We will be discussing this for years and years, with the traffic getting worse all the time.
Cheers,
Jerry
As far as that new route out of Puna, it will take a lot of effort to come up with something that both works and disrupts the least possible number of homes. Many of my neighbors here in HPP are ready to fight any highway that crosses the subdivision. I think it should be considered, but with a LOT of conditions. Adding to the difficulty is the fact that the State Highway Dept. has its rather heavy-handed momentum behind four-laning 130 before they turn to other options. I seem to recall that the EIS for four-laning has already been ordered.
No easy answers, and nothing is going to happen very fast. We will be discussing this for years and years, with the traffic getting worse all the time.
Cheers,
Jerry