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Did I miss the memo that 130 is largely being made into 45 mph road? Coming north out of Pahoa today I noticed that the speed limit sign immediately after the police station now says 45 mph instead of 55, and I believe there is a new set of speed limit signs between the water spigots and the farmer's market, also for 45 mph. Best I can tell, this makes Highway 130 a 45 mph road between Pahoa and Shower Drive, and this seems to have changed just sometime this week?
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That was part of the promise from the new Hiway engineer to make roads safer. He said at the meeting few months ago speed limits would change.
Puna: Our roosters crow first
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Wow! How about we make the speed limit 15? That way it’ll be super safe. Problem solved. Does no one in traffic engineering understand that the slower the speed limit the less traffic it can handle?
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Sounds a whole lot easier and cheaper than policing the road for distracted drivers or drunk drivers.
... what do the police in Puna do all day , anyway.
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Just makes the end of the road that much quieter...
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Since people were only driving 45 anyway, they will now drive 35, making it a 35 MPH highway.
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How about we make the speed limit 15?
Without widening and/or an alternate route, the lower speed limits will happen organically; my guess is the average speed will be 25 by 2020, 15 by 2023 -- faster than Oahu rail, and for a fraction of the price!
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Lower speeds are inevitable as communities grow. That happened repeatedly on Oahu over many decades. But typically when such changes come, communities become more adaptable in other areas--such as allowing people to pass on the right when someone is taking a left turn.
Oahu accepts that practice completely. When I raised the idea on Punatalk some months ago, it was mostly derided as disrespectful, inconsiderate driving.
There are a number of single family driveways on 130. How long do we want to continue to insist that all traffic come to a halt--sometimes for 15-20 seconds--so someone can turn left into a driveway? This also applies to many streets in Hilo.
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From the Pahoa roundabout to Ainaloa Blvd is about 4 miles.
At 55 MPH - 4 minutes 22 seconds
At 45 MPH - 5 minutes 20 seconds
https://www.timecalculator.net/speed-dis...calculator
"Enlightened statesmen will not always be at the helm." -James Madison, The Federalist Papers, 1787
"I'm at that stage in life where I stay out of discussions. Even if you say 1+1=5, you're right - have fun." - Keanu Reeves
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typically when such changes come, communities become more adaptable in other areas
Perhaps some "local commerce" would remove a few cars from the highway...
