The Issues: Traffic Congestion
We all try to avoid peak traffic hours through Wailua and Kapa`a, but sometimes we get stuck. After decades of planning a Wailua-Kapa`a bypass relief route, the State Department of Transportation (SDOT) has abandoned that plan. The following priority projects are now being pursued by the State to relieve traffic congestion.
Until the above improvements are made, I would also like to explore the feasibility of leaving the contraflow cones throughout the weekend, as Sunday traffic is also backing up through Kapa`a Town. While these road improvements are critical to relieve traffic congestion, it is also important to work on reducing the number of vehicles on the road by improving the routes and frequency of our bus system and adding convenient shuttles that can help reduce the number of rental cars driven by visitors. I would also like the State and County to work together to build the Kuamo`o-Ma`alo connector road as a resiliency project to ensure that east and north shore communities have continuous access to medical, transportation and other facilities in the event of tsunami damage to our shoreline highway and bridges. |