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Is this the one that would have added a bunch of roundabouts? If so, great that it wasn't funded! 95% of drivers using the Pahoa one still have no idea that yield means to slow down only when necessary. Many completely stop or yield for no reason, including most police I've been behind in it. Now if we can just get speeds restored to 55 all the way from the light in Pahoa to where 130 meets 11. Many areas on the island without even any shoulders, more driveways, and far more winding remain 55.
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Whether 95% of drivers can handle a roundabout (in your opinion) or not.... the fact is that intersection was the most dangerous in the state and is now the least dangerous.
So your premise could be restated as: Roundabouts can handle the most unskilled drivers.
I am all for more roundabouts.
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I'll go for raising the speed limit back to 55 when all those driveways on 130 are closed off, the Hele-On and the School buses stop picking up and dropping off and we get a decent shoulder. Then we can talk about whether 130 is a Highway or not. We all know that you want to get down to Seaview as soon as possible Rob, but I've found that the longer drive keeps the crowds to a minimum.
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I’m with Rob Tucker in that the intersection in Pahoa went from being very unsafe to being very safe. The roundabout in Pahoa handles about 7000 vehicles a day. But doesn’t handle them well at all around 2:30 every day. Those along 130 would be required to currently handle about 30,000 vehicles a day. If you think that a roundabout anything like the one in Pahoa is a solution for the other intersections on 130, I don’t even know what to say. I’m glad the funding didn’t go through to build more of those.
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Well, you were wrong about the Pahoa roundabout being a "disaster" and you're wrong about roundabouts not being able to handle more volume.
The more roundabouts, the better!
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the fact is that intersection was the most dangerous in the state and is now the least dangerous.
I saw accidents at the old intersection on a regular basis. With the roundabout, I have yet to see any (although one was reported here on Punaweb a week or two ago - - but clearly they're rare).
If the argument is to be made that drivers don't know how to use the roundabout, I would contend that drivers REALLY didn't know how to use the old intersection. They had three stop signs in the last 30 feet before the highway, and still crashed their cars into other cars on a regular basis.
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The roundabout in Pahoa handles about 7000 vehicles a day. But doesn’t handle them well at all around 2:30 every day. Those along 130 would be required to currently handle about 30,000 vehicles a day.
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They would not be one lane roundabouts. They would be two lane. Huge difference.
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quote:
Originally posted by leilanidude
The roundabout in Pahoa handles about 7000 vehicles a day. But doesn’t handle them well at all around 2:30 every day. Those along 130 would be required to currently handle about 30,000 vehicles a day.
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They would not be one lane roundabouts. They would be two lane. Huge difference.
Given the backups in one lane roundabouts, which are primarily caused by nobody knowing how to drive, I can't imagine two lane ones. People on this island don't even seem to know that when there are two lanes, the left lane is the faster lane.
I agree though the Pahoa roundabout was overall a good decision due to safety, but it should have been designed to be much larger and more effort put into educating the public about how to use them.
As for the speed limit. I just want it to be what it was not too long ago and be consistent with many other areas of the island that are 55. To accommodate greater population and traffic, the limit should be raised, not lowered. And yes, there should have been a moratorium on new driveways along 130 15+ years ago.
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Close but no cigar. Cart before the horse! Yes we still have not put a moratorium on new driveways on 130. Yes we still allow school buses to pick/drop right on 130. So we are not looking at treating 130 like a highway anytime soon (and probably never will).
It's important to understand the future of 130 - there will eventually be stop lights or roundabouts at every major intersection. That is Ainaloa, Makuu, Paradise, Orchidland, Kaloli and also Kahakai, Leilani and Opihikao/Kamali. With all those potential bottlenecks do you really think 55mph is the way to go?
I understand you would prefer a 101 style freeway from Seaview to Hilo but given Hawaii's penchant for safety over travel time, that just won't happen.
P.S. I can already hear you howling when they eventually drop the limit from 55-45 from Pahoa to Kalapana!!
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Well I do understand that incompetence will prevail and DOT won't be happy until we're the next Oahu. With our next governor Hanabusa seemingly in favor of overdeveloping the Big Island it all seems inevitable.
