Finding an alternative road to Puna: Measure would fund surveys for possible routes

[Durian Fiend]

If most of the traffic comes from HPP (Population 11,000 according to Google) it would make sense to me that the solution would be a road originating in, or near, HPP.
Good luck with that.

[AaronS]

The main problem with this study is HDOT-H doesn't have any funds to add new capacity (highways) in the entire state. There will be exceptions, but HDOT-H has been mandated by the Federal government to focus on system preservation and highway safety projects since 2016. The Queen Kaahumanu Highway widening Phase 2 and the final east side Saddle Road projects will be last capacity HDOT-H capacity projects for the foreseeable future.

[eightfingers2.0]

The main problem with this study is HDOT-H doesn't have any funds to add new capacity (highways) in the entire state. There will be exceptions, but HDOT-H has been mandated by the Federal government to focus on system preservation and highway safety projects since 2016. The Queen Kaahumanu Highway widening Phase 2 and the final east side Saddle Road projects will be last capacity HDOT-H capacity projects for the foreseeable future.

I thought Biden is going to take care of all that?

[kalakoa]

I maintain that "some" of the traffic could be mitigated if everyone didn't have to drive to Hilo all the time for everything, and that adding more commercial services in Puna doesn't require much (if any) public funding.

As an added bonus, expressing this in the form of a ballot question would force the residents to commit to development or a road (or neither).

Consider: the measure as written pays for "surveys". It does not pay for "roads". These "surveys" will confirm what everyone already knows: there isn't money or available land for an alternate route. For the cost of these surveys, we could upzone the 20-acre parcels in HPP, maybe get a Lowe's on that empty 9 acres next to Puna Kai.

I don't want to drive to Hilo, but that's where everything is. This makes Puna a "bedroom community", by definition.

[ChunksterK]

Consider: the measure as written pays for "surveys". It does not pay for "roads". -  kalakoa

Exactly.  Someone will rake in a pile of taxpayers' money to tell us something we already know.  If Ilagan had really wanted to help Puna, he would have stayed on the county council and pushed for zoning reform to reduce the need to drive to Hilo.  Ambition got the better of him, though, and he finally made it to Honolulu after an ill-considered run against Ruderman.  Now that he's there, he is just another Punatic howling from the wilderness who will be ignored like all the others before him.  Having a competent council person in place until they termed out has helped other districts achieve some progress that we haven't with our revolving door representation.

Speaking of the council, Ashley Kierkiewicz didn't seem to be too impressed with the bill, saying in the HTH article that it is good to start a conversation.  She did point us to the real problem:

We have to invest in infrastructure that allows people to access what they need in their community. We need the commercial town centers, and the Puna (Community Development Plan) supports this. We need good paying jobs with livable wages in the communities that people are living in.”

Unfortunately, the Puna CDP has been a bad joke.  Ashley needs to look elsewhere for a framework such as simply putting forward rezoning legislation and perhaps the creation of an enterprise zone.  This is something that might have already happened if Ilagan had stayed on the council and built the relationships with various council members and bureaucrats that such a move would require.  Meanwhile, we get to languish in traffic while we try to get to Hilo for the things we need.

[kalakoa]

The PCDP is working as designed: it's an inventory of village centers on an as-is where-is (or, in some cases, no-can) basis. It is not a roadmap for development, rather it imposes new restrictions that (you guessed it) work towards keeping Puna a bedroom community.

Everything is "paused" while the lava recovery is "mulling". Meanwhile, people keep building houses.

[HereOnThePrimalEdge]

Shipman doesn’t want development on the 20 acre parcels in HPP.  They don’t own those properties.  They want development on their land around Keaau.  They do not want to allow road access on Railroad Ave through their property to Hilo, which would bypass Keaau.  Shipman is also a supporter of Kierkiewicz and Ilagan, the supposed “representatives” for the “people” of Puna.  You do the math.

[kalakoa]

But the PCDP clearly says the 20-acre HPP parcels can be used for "regional/village centers" (page 5-9).

Thanks to Enriques, Greenwell, Ikdea, Naeole-Beason, Onishi, Yagong, and Yoshimoto for their AYES. Without their leadership, we might have nothing.

[AaronM]

LAND AND POWER IN HAWAII

[Punaperson]

I've been wondering if the Shipman people are trying to revive their plans for a new Kea'au town center. It would explain their continued hardline against any / all use of their portion of Railroad Ave.
Back in the early/mid 2000's there were plans and government deals in the making for a large development between the Shipman Park and the industrial area. The plans I saw included a new post office, fire and police stations, a library, a supermarket, medical offices, shops, and the biggest selling point for government funding, substantial amounts of senior housing. The idea being pitched was everything would be within walking distance of the housing, resulting in fewer cars being driven by old people on the roads. The County was on board, the State was getting close, and the Feds were listening. All those plans got derailed with the financial meltdown that started in 2008. Has anyone heard if these plans, or something similar is in the wind ?