Bill Text: HI HR121 | 2017 | Regular Session | Introduced

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Bill Title: Requesting The Department Of Transportation To Develop The Design And Plans For Secondary Access Roads For Farrington Highway.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 21-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2017-03-14 - Referred to TRN, FIN, referral sheet 30 [HR121 Detail]

Download: Hawaii-2017-HR121-Introduced.html

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HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES	H.R. NO.	121
TWENTY-NINTH LEGISLATURE, 2017
STATE OF HAWAII

HOUSE RESOLUTION

 

 

requesting the department of transportation to develop the design and plans for secondary access roads for farrington highway.

 

 

 

     WHEREAS, Farrington Highway is not only the major roadway on Oahu's Leeward Coast, it is also the sole access route that links the Waianae district to Ewa and points east, including metropolitan Honolulu; and

 

     WHEREAS, although West Oahu has experienced exponential growth and development over the last 20 years, transportation infrastructure has not kept pace, with traffic volume on Farrington Highway increasing from an average of 20,000 vehicles per day in 2000 to 50,000 vehicles per day in 2016; and

 

     WHEREAS, although planned rail and other public transportation expansions, such as more robust bus service, may alleviate some traffic congestion once they are fully implemented, a solution that depends on solely public transportation is both too far in the future and inadequate; and

 

     WHEREAS, the City and County of Honolulu's Department of Transportation Services published a concept study for a secondary access highway for the Leeward Coast in 2001, but no action has been taken to realize this project; and

 

     WHEREAS, the residents of the Waianae district bear the largest burden of the current infrastructural insufficiency since they must contend with daily commutes of up to two hours each way for jobs or school, both of which are concentrated on the island's opposite eastern coast; and

     WHEREAS, during peak morning and afternoon commute hours, the eight-mile segment of Farrington Highway between Makaha and Nanakuli cannot be traveled in less than 45 minutes; and

 

     WHEREAS, additionally, the lack of any alternate route leaves Leeward residents more vulnerable to harm in an emergency situation, as there is currently no available route that can be used as an alternative to Farrington Highway during times when Farrington Highway is impassable; and

 

     WHEREAS, coastal residents are at the mercy of traffic conditions for travel both within and out of the Waianae district and may be unable to reach emergency services or to timely evacuate the area if the sole available route both through and out of the district is impassable due to storm damage, severe vehicular accidents, or even daily rush hour; and

 

     WHEREAS, any project to alleviate traffic congestion on Oahu's west side must first avoid exacerbating the problem through ongoing lane closures or other disruptions caused by construction; and

 

     WHEREAS, it is critical that any project to supply alternate transportation corridors must minimize or, ideally, altogether avoid creating additional transportation barriers for residents of West Oahu; now, therefore,

 

     BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Twenty-ninth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2017, that the Department of Transportation is requested to develop the design and plans for secondary access roads to serve as alternative routes to Farrington Highway for travel within, into, and out of the Waianae district of Oahu; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the plans include route maps, timelines for implementation, measures to avoid or mitigate disruption of access to currently available routes, an artist's rendition of what the three conceptual routes may look like after construction, and any other information the Department of Transportation deems necessary; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Department of Transportation submit its findings and recommendations, including any proposed Legislation, to the Legislature no later than 20 days before the convening of the Regular Session of 2018; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a certified copy of this Resolution be transmitted to the Director of Transportation.

 

 

 

	OFFERED BY:	_____________________________

Report Title: 

Roadways; Waianae District; Secondary Access Routes