Beware HPP highway

[ericlp]

Attention Hawaiian Paradise Park residents: By the end of 2007, the county is going to bang its gavel on a proposed highway running from Hilo to Hawaiian Beaches through HPP. Proposed routes are Beach, 5th, 10th-11th, 15th or 25th. Quoting a county official I spoke with, "the county will exercise its right of eminent domain to build the highway."

The ones left by the side of the new highway will be the real losers. People choose to live by the highway, or away from the highway, for specific, valid reasons. I am building a house near one of the proposed routes and I'm sick to my stomach over this.

Noise pollution will easily reach 70 percent of HPP. Goodbye soft ocean sounds, chirping bird sunsets; hello vroom-vroom boom-boom tire screech. This will certainly create more "cruising" opportunities at all hours of the night. Vandalism and theft will rise. I bet gas stations and a Taco Bell are not too far away either.

All to save eight minutes on the drive to Hilo. Serving a neighborhood by destroying the very fabric of that same neighborhood is not a creative solution at all. Get involved at hawaiiislandplan.com.

Doug Vincent

HPP

Figured I'd Quote the whole story... This was from Tribune... I find the story interesting. I'm kinda new here and I am not sure how long ago this was planned or if it was just something new. New to me... Is this a go or just a plan/study? Will be interesting to hear what you all think.

Eric

[JerryCarr]

Aloha, Eric. This is not exactly news. Several plans for roads across HPP have been floated over the past few years. (You might want to use the search function on this forum to review past discussion of some proposals, including one by our forum moderator.) To my knowledge, the State Department of Transportation has not actively supported any of the trans-HPP plans and seems focused on expanding Highway 130 to four lanes.

The piece you quoted is a letter to the editor, and not a news story. I would love to know which county official Mr. Vincent spoke to. I really doubt that the county would spend the money to build such a road without DOT financial participation, and even if they did, it would take many years of studies, hearings, etc. to actually build anything.

Community reaction has been mixed, but one should realistically expect stiff opposition. I am a resident of HPP, and I am ambivalent. My own opinion hinges on HOW they might propose to do it.

Cheers,
Jerry

[ericlp]

Thanks, I saw it was written today so I thought it was news worthy. Sigh... I know it was a letter to the editor.

Thanks for you input, if no one else wishes to post on the story we can let it die. I didn't mean to bring back a rash of crap that has already been discussed before. I still find it interesting as the end of 07 is right around the corner. I too wish Doug would state his source, maybe he will post more here...hahaha Right....

[JerryCarr]

No worries, Eric. This is an important subject. Actually there is a new twist if a county official is really talking about eminent domain without the requisite environmental studies, etc. That part is very interesting.

Cheers,
Jerry

[Aki]

The Puna makai road through HPP is alive and kicking and the letter to the editor raises very good issues.

If you want to read more, here are some links/information from the Hawaii General Plan (2005), the Puna Community Development Plan (CDP) site (2007) and the Puna Regional Circulation Plan (2005).

The General Plan and the Puna CDP will together guide the very fabric of future development in Puna, in many respects. The Puna makai road is only one aspect of a much broader issue of how to deal with the existing needs and future growth in Puna.

Here is the link to the main page of the Hawaii General Plan (2005):
http://www.hawaii-county.com/la/gp/2005/main.html

In the Transportation Chapter (chapter 13), at page 13-7 there is a discussion of the makai road possibility:

13.2.5.1.2 Courses of Action
(a) Explore the possibility of developing a mid-level roadway to be located makai of
Highway 130, beginning at Hawaiian Beaches Subdivision and extending through
Hawaiian Paradise Park Subdivision with its eventual connection to Railroad Avenue
in South Hilo. Consider the establishment of a bikeway along the same alignment.

Here is the link to this page:
http://www.hawaii-county.com/la/gp/2005/...tation.pdf

Also, the "facility" maps in the Hawaii General plan show a future collector road makai of Highway 130, but the exact alignment is not clear. The map is shown in the chapter entitled "Maps - Facilities" on page 19 of 34 maps, as "Collectors (Proposed)" through HPP from Railway to Hawaiian Beaches. Here is the link to the maps (go to page 19):
http://www.hawaii-county.com/la/gp/2005/...LITIES.pdf

The Hawaii General Plan contemplated the creation of various Community Development Plans (CDP) that will have the force of law once approved. The intention is for communities to better define the intent of the Hawaii General Plan so that the general plan can be translated into action in the local community.

The Puna CDP is quite far advanced with the "working groups" already providing their reports to the "steering committee" and Planning officials. Here is a link to the Puna CDP process:
http://www.hawaiiislandplan.com/puna.asp

One of the working groups dealt with transportation issues. One subgroup of the transportation group dealt with "New Corridors". Here is a link to the working group reports:
http://www.hcrc.info/cdp-documents/puna/...ps/reports

The last report deals with the new corridors issue (the report is entitled "Transportation - New Alternative Corridors".

This report supports a Puna makai road through HPP suggesting holding referendums to identify the exact alignment. One of the attachments to this report is by Rob Tucker who proposes a road through HPP between 10th and 11th Avenue.

The New Corridors subgroup reviewed the Puna Regional Circulation Plan which also noted a Puna makai road was required, but stopped short of a specific alignment recommendation (although the sense I get is that the 15th/16th avenue alignment is favoured). Here is a link to "final" report:
http://www.hawaii-county.com/info/puna/cirplanfinal.htm

Chapter 8 of that report dealt with PMAR (Puna Makai Alternative Road) and describes the long history of looking at this issue.

It is true that this issue has been around a long time with no real action. However, things are now different as the Puna CDP needs to be finalized and will have the force of law.

If you want provide input, this is a good time to contact the Puna CDP steering committee members and the Planning department etc.

Hope this provides some factual context to the urgency/reality of a decision being made about the Puna makai road within the next year. This timeline is in line with the finalization of the Puna CDP, which will have the force of law.

From discussions at the February steering committee meeting (which I attended) and with Planning deparment staff, the CDP is intended to identify timelines and funding sources for its proposals.

There is a real need to ensure safe egress and ingress to and through HPP. Which alignment is used is still up for discussion and input. Hope those that are interested will take the time to participate in the process.

Mahalo, Aki

[Chunkster]

Ah, if solving our transportation problems in Puna were only as easy as writing a solution into the Community Development Plan. I know folks in HPP who are planning to resist any sort of highway across the subdivision, and they are not all NIMBY or CAVE types. Many of them do not even live on any of the proposed routes. Their emerging mantra seems to be, "Why should we have a noisy, polluting, eventually dangerous highway though our community so other people can get to Hilo ten minutes faster." This is simplistic and ignores the possible good for HPP residents, but that seems to be where they are coming from.

The CDP is a very good thing overall, but I have to suppress a little smirk when its activist proponents keep using the phrase "force of law." A few seem to think that everything that goes into the Plan will just magically happen. (Most know better.) Yes, the framework is written to make the plan part of the law, but there are over-riding legalities that restrict not only components of the Plan, but eminent domain, too. Environmental regulations come to mind as a big limiting factor, and there are undoubtedly others. There are well-recognized limits on eminent domain, and we only have to look to the other side of this island to see how committed resistors with good lawyers can hold up a road for many years.

Then there is the issue of funding. Does the County have the money to build a road without federal or state funds? As someone noted earlier in this thread, the State seems to have other plans, and they hold the pursestrings. Hawaii County can't keep the park facilities in repair or provide effecive police coverage in Puna. I doubt they would find the money for a multi-million dollar highway in a district they would really rather forget about.

This is Hawaii. Nothing happens fast. It will probably be decades before a road goes through HPP, if ever.

[Rob Tucker]

I agree with that last sentence:

"This is Hawaii. Nothing happens fast. It will probably be decades before a road goes through HPP, if ever."

I wrote one of the proposals for an alternate roadway and my proposal was predicated on "IF" it was decided another route was necessary. There are reasons to think it may be necessary.

The primary intention of such a roadway is not to spare someone 10 minutes of driving time to Hilo. The primary need for such a route is in the event of a disaster, which Puna with active lava zones has potential for, a single road out (Hwy 130) which can easily and quickly get blocked by one accident. That situation could be deadly.

Meanwhile I find it somewhat ironic that some residents of HPP (not all by any means) are hellbent on not considering such an alternative route. I suggest that they, whoever they are, did not complain when the Keaau by-pass went in and saved them 10 minutes driving time to Hilo at the expense of someone's emminent domained home. In that vein that oppostition is very NIMBY to my view. A more nuanced P.O.V. would be to discuss the various options of roadway locations, size and scale.

Right now HPP by example is approx. 22% built out. There are still another 7,000 households to develop there and each of them will contribute in time to the need for an alternative route.

That's my basic take. Everyone is encouraged to express their views through the CDP process. Do it now while it is going on. What parts of the CDP actually take some legal form are unknown at this time.

[toucano]

Very good comments Rob. You forgot to add the potential for earthquakes, tsunamis, and hurricanes. It is not a matter of IF another route is build, but WHEN and WHERE.

No one wants it in their area. And everyone has compelling reasons that it shouldn't be in their area. But it will be in someone's backyard and there will be unhappy campers.

[Aki]

Good comments all around. The Puna CDP, once it is finalized later this year or early next year, will guide/circumscribe decisions relating to Puna, including the location of the Puna makai road. The working group reports are being reviewed by the steering committee and external consultants. Eventually the CDP will get in front of the political decision makers and their approval will set the course for the future. Of course the approval of a plan does not guarantee the construction of the Puna makai road, but the intention is to identify funding sources and timelines in the CDP itself.

One planning staff member thought it would likely be around eight years or so before the Puna makai road would be built, but the main point is that the decision about where it will be built is to be made as part of the development of the CDP. That is my understanding anyway and I look forward to any clarification.

Personally, assuming the Puna makai road is to be built, it should be built along a corridor that ties into the industrial/commercial properties identified in HPP for future development. This will minimize disruption in other parts of HPP and allows for public transit, shopping and services, and the road through HPP all to be in the same area for ease of use and minimum impact.

Thanks, Aki