Puna to Hilo and back again

[james weatherford]

With other forum topics being hijacked for discussion about "PMAR" by whatever title or description, this is a thread to talk about people and goods moving from Puna to Hilo and back again.
Enjoy.

[kalakoa]

I'll add the usual: "why does everything have to be in Hilo", and point out that PCDP doesn't describe any "new" development, says we should have "commercial centers" ... right where they already are.

[TomK]

"With other forum topics being hijacked for discussion about "PMAR" by whatever title or description, this is a thread to talk about people and goods moving from Puna to Hilo and back again.
Enjoy."

I'm not sure what this thread is supposed to be about especially as it's in the politics forum. I travel between Puna and Hilo nearly everyday. Do you want traffic reports or something else? Or do you mean people actually changing residences between Puna and Hilo?

[PauHana]

? Is this about the Sunday commentary in the Tribune Herald , but not?

[HiloPuna]

Quite prescient ....

[shockwave rider]

With the mention of the PMAR I am assuming this thread is for discussion of how people and goods are/could be moved between Puna and Hilo, so here goes:

After his last election, but before announcing he was running for the Senate, a good friend of mine had a scheduled meeting with Greggor about the need to designate the PMAR route so people could buy or build knowing if they were going to have the inevitable PMAR going through their front or back yard, especially with the rapid growth HPP is again experiencing. This was not a brief chance meeting in a public setting, but a 2 hour sit down specifically about the PMAR. At that meeting Greggor said all the right things, admitted that he would not have been willing to bring the issue forward before the election, because it is a third rail of Puna politics, but would be willing to do so this term. Instead, he set his sights on even higher office, and worked to kill a proposal that would have at least studied possible routes for the PMAR. I've seen the notes my friend took at the meeting she had with Greggor, and the vast divide between what he told someone active in Puna community politics and his actions since the meeting has left me with no respect for the man. He is just another ambitious politician who is willing to say what the listener wants to hear, but isn't willing to take needed actions that might offend his donors or possible voters, there is a real lack of integrity displaced in this case that in my mind disqualifies him for public office.

A PMAR is needed and inevitable, the eventual route needs to be designated ASAP, so we don't have a repeat of the Puna Geothermal situation where people buy or build their homes, only to discover that the quality of life they invested in is about to be trashed. Not designating a route and having continued growth in HPP will just increase the cost of the project, because more people will have to be paid for the loss of part of a developed property. The new Mayor needs to be at the forefront of this effort, because they are elected island wide and not as vulnerable to voter backlash as a Puna councilor would be. No one wants this going through their yard, but if a route was designated at least people would have a chance to plan for it, as it stands now, tons of houses are being built in HPP with no idea where the PMAR is going to go.

[kalakoa]

http://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/comm...nate-route

The "truth" (per Bill Walter) is that nobody wants PMAR built, ever.

Ironically, the status quo means ever-worsening traffic congestion.

I suggest, again, that allowing "village commercial" development would eliminate the need for some of those trips to town, which might help mitigate the congestion ... but at the rate things are going (eg, still talking about it 20 years later), this won't make enough of a difference to be a "solution". Neither will the 130 widening.

[leilanidude]

First step should be connecting the various subdivisions together. This would at least keep some traffic off the main (and only) highway.

[BillyB]

S R (Ilagan) "worked to kill a proposal that would have at least studied possible routes for the PMAR"

Why on earth do we need another study?

" Hawaiian Paradise Park PMAR committee: On July 30, 2011, after studying the most recent proposal for PMAR, having met repeatedly with county officials, held public meetings in HPP and with other HPP civic groups, and having conducted a survey of residents,"

From the article:

"Further, Shipman has provided a number of solutions using our properties to address growing traffic problems in lower Puna. Those include, building frontage roads separate from Highway 130 but next to it between Shower Road in HPP and Keaau. Further, the county working with council members from this district and the Puna Action Committee has come up with excellent plans that would improve the already existing alternative routes to lower Puna mauka of Highway 130."

This doesn't sound like Greggor Ilagan and Danny Paleka are doing nothing as the Ruderman camp wants you to believe, no matter how you try to spin it. It sounds more like a possible solution versus an impossible solution.

Everyone seems fixated on Railroad but, again from the article:
"The roadway would, further, break up farms and make internal traffic more difficult. Sen. Ruderman seeks to diminish these concerns by suggesting the road be used for walking and biking primarily and there is little or no risk from such activities. Such an incursion, however, designed also for emergency vehicle use would end up being utilized (legally or not) by ATVs and other equipment widely used by thieves and hunters who are causing major damage."

REALITY TIME!
My God walk to Hilo! That's a 7 hour trek, each way, half that on a bike. Work soaking wet 8 hours and 7 hours home (=22 hrs). Sleep and eat for 2 hours then back to the trail. I am picturing those wagon train movies with all the bones along the way.

Ruderman poo pooed Hawaiian Homes opposition, but it is no small matter, and you had better believe Hawaiian Homes has more horse power in Honolulu that any Senator from anywhere, let alone Puna, will ever have. There are 24 other Senators and I would bet they are all more sympathetic toward Hawaiian Homes than they are to the angry people from Puna.

On top of that Shipman is not just Shipman; it is part of a network of old kamaaina family estates, Bishop and Campbell estates to name a few. Calling them names, not to mention lying, and stomping your feet at public forums will accomplish nothing, but cause them to circle the wagons. If you think they are without influence at the Legislature your sadly mistaken. Besides it is always much easier NOT to spend money in someone else's district

The mind set that anyone who disagrees with me is an evil crook is counter productive in the extreme.

Democracy functions when people come together, and identify problems. The result usually is they come up with imperfect solutions that work.

kalakoa is correct about development in Puna reducing traffic; however it will not stop the need to get to Hilo Airport, Hospital, and a hundred other jobs and services. I wish it could.

[leilanidude]

"The roadway would, further, break up farms and make internal traffic more difficult. Sen. Ruderman seeks to diminish these concerns by suggesting the road be used for walking and biking primarily and there is little or no risk from such activities. Such an incursion, however, designed also for emergency vehicle use would end up being utilized (legally or not) by ATVs and other equipment widely used by thieves and hunters who are causing major damage."
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How many actual farms are there? Vast majority of the land is completely unused.

If crime is such an issue, do something about the crime, not an alternate roadway that is sorely needed!