new connectivity routes in Puna

[csgray]

2014-16 CERS Report 4-23-14 w-maps is the title of the report discussed in this article: http://hawaiitribune-herald.com/news/loc...ncy-routes

Reading the correspondence to the committee it seems like there is localized opposition to many of the routes, and very little funding to make them happen. Somewhere between $1 and 5 million isn't going to go very far. Public works also say they would prefer routes with no organized opposition but the boulders placed across Railroad where it hits HPP are in the report as the main impediment to that route, completely overlooking the strong opposition that will exist to any route across HPP.

Hawaii County Public Works Director Warren Lee seems to be saying this is the plan they are going with, but Marlene Hapai of the Puna CDP's Connectivity and Emergency Response subcommittee says they will continue to take public testimony, which implies things could still change. The maps that are part of the report Lee says they are adopting, show Railroad being used on either side of HPP, but not what will happen going across HPP. People really need a firm decision to be made one way or the other so they can know what the deal is, otherwise there is a high level of uncertainty for owners of potential buyers of a broad band of properties across the center of HPP. It had always been my understanding that there were issues with Railroad in terms of both width and expired right of ways, but this plan seems to ignore that.




Carol

[kalakoa]

Article suggests that $2M is available, and that the alternate Fern Acres route (S Lauko to 11) would cost about $1M.

It would be great if they spent the other $1M on the alternate Seaview-to-130 connector -- not because I don't live there, but because Seaview has the worst connectivity.

[Amrita]

It seems odd that Fern Acres which has I believe only two main roads and is a small and lightly populated subdivision is the top priority. Much more needed is alternate routes to get out of lower puna as the Ainaloa to HA to 11 is the only alternate viable at present. And a million dollars? OMG.

[lquade]

i believe fern acres which is home to over 2000 people has NO alternative route out. even though ainaloa only has one alternative route, once in to HA it has 3 ways out. fern acres has one road in and out and that one road meets at a 3way intersection with all traffic that would be trying to get out of the top of HA. my understanding is first priority will be landlocked areas, one route in/out, then work on major traffic areas but we all no the money wont go far especially if you have to start buying land. they also took into account as csgray states, those areas that had strong opposition to any new routes through their subdivision.

[dakine]

quote:

---

Originally posted by csgray

...completely overlooking the strong opposition that will exist to any route across HPP...

---

cut for style.. not to in anyway alter the meaning of what was said...

but with that one point in mind I would like to ask what do you think is the route that should be adopted?

myself, I think it has to go through HPP. and yes it is a way big shame this wasn't dealt with 30 years ago when all those people weren't here.. but they are and they got their little corner of paradise and god bless them for that... and what should be done? I personally think the sooner this is dealt with the smaller the group of people that are going to be effected.. but yes someone.. some group of people are.. regardless of what route... going to be 'adversely' effected.

So Carol.. you seem to have a fairly realistic.. educated.. analytical yet compassionate mind/heart... so really.. what would you propose as the answer to this dilemma?

[Lee M-S]

Actually, you can get from Fern Acres to Hawaiian Acres down Anthurium, makai of Plumeria. Not a great road, but those lakes are really pretty shallow. [] Then it's down the dread Road 1 to the highway.

I think it would be great to have a grid of well-paved access roads that give us all multiple ways out of our subdivisions. As long as the road isn't too close to MY house! Do the NIMBY![:p]

quote:

---

Originally posted by lquade

i believe fern acres which is home to over 2000 people has NO alternative route out.

---

grrr, trying to edit out all the repeats...

[csgray]

Dakine,
I do not have the answer to your question, but I do think they need to create a solid ten year plan that plainly shows EXACTLY where they are going to split HPP in half, the Hawaiian Beaches/Shores/Park/Recreation Estates subdivision also needs the same kind of certainty. The current state of semi permanent vagueness is making it impossible for people to make educated decisions about their homes and futures.

For example: we live on one of the routes that has been bandied about, but after experiencing first a broken ankle, and now a broken leg, in this house, I want to buy a lot and build a more accessible home. We have a cloud of uncertainty hanging over this house, and if we build anywhere from 13th to 20th or so we risk building the home we plan to grow old in, only to have our quality of life trashed by a motorway being built adjoining our lot. People need to know a firm route now, so that when this thing does finally get built it will impact fewer people who did not know what was going to happen. There are more houses being built in HPP every day, many on lots that could potentially become impacted by this project.

People deserve to know what man made disaster is in store for them, Pele can do what she chooses, but the Hawaii county departments of planning and transportation scare the heck out of me.

Carol

[nani1970]

I had to go on the Pohaku and 40th route due to Highway 130 being closed due to fatal accident.
40th is a potholed river bed.
It is very tough without 4 wheel drive.
It would be pure chaos evacuating on that road.

[dakine]

Carol.. thanks for your thoughts. I too can not imagine an answer that would work without disrupting many. Enough so that the outcry is going to be way loud no matter.. to the point that without a whole lot more political will than has ever been demonstrated previously nothing is going to happen. Though I also think every day that passes without this issue being resolved makes resolving it that much harder.

What concerns me is that at what point does the community as a whole.. i.e. our government.. become accountable for not providing a reasonable infrastructure? As an example we have building codes that builders must follow to insure a standard that then can be relied upon by the consumer.. i.e. if it has a final then it's a house and you can expect... whatever. And, I would expect the same holds true with all the licensed professionals in our community. i.e. if the guy's a dentist.. well you get the picture

So when does the guy that provides roads and such.. sewage.. water.. infrastructure stuff.. have to own up to their responsibilities? And, when does the lack of action catch up to them? As in when is the death or extensive injuries that are caused.. in whole or in part.. by the lack of good roads that are passable to transport people in EM situations.. become something our government is accountable for?

After all, our government.. i.e. us.. we the people... allowed for all these massive subdivisions to be made in the first place. Further, we have happily issued building permits and taxed everything involved.. so when should 'we' have to give some of that back? i.e. invest in ourselves?

It seems to me that we have already crossed that line. A look at Google maps in satellite view of HPP is enough to scare anyone methinks. There are a whole lot of people there! All of them paying taxes.. and getting what in return? The makai alternative to 130 is as Frankie pointed out.. been on the table for a very very long time... and was a foregone conclusion as far back as the '70s, when it would have been cheap.. and had almost no impact on anyone... to do.

As to your personal situation.. If I were you I'd be grateful that the situation has you moving on.. starting over.. and get out of the way entirely. Grateful that you're motivated rather than entrenched and already expecting to live out your days where you are. Btw.. you can loose your dream for all sorts of reasons.. not just a highway coming through your yard. A love one passes.. a child needs.. you're told you're getting a divorce.. sheesh the place can burn down!

But still towns.. cities and all the stuff in-between have all risen out of the land.. and over time been rebuilt and rebuilt to accommodate the ever growing populations. And, if I were ever to be told by the doc at the hospital.. I am sorry sir but your.. wife.. daughter.. friend.. someone I love just didn't get there fast enough.. what? Is it just the luck of the draw? or as I said is there a point at which the collective.. i.e. we the people.. are responsible?

[csgray]

Responsible governments put together 10, 20 and even 50 year plans so the people who aren't sitting in the smoke filled back rooms where deals are made know what is going to happen down the road, and can make educated decisions. The key word there that is missing in our situation is "responsible," not a word we usually connect with Hawaii county planning.

My greatest fear is they announce the PMAR is going through our place before we can make our move and I am stuck with a house I can't sell, and a construction loan on a house I am building. We did a lot of research before we bought, and at that time our place wasn't on any of the discussed routes, right after we moved in our road started popping up on a few maps of proposed routes, now they are talking about Railroad, but prior county analysis said the right of ways were vacated and it was too narrow going through HPP to be a viable route. There is more building happening here every day, the time is way past to pick a route and commit to it, even if it won't be built for years.

Carol