Bill Text: HI SR198 | 2023 | Regular Session | Amended
Bill Title: Requesting The City And County Of Honolulu To Relocate The Bus Turnaround Off Makau Street To Keaau Beach Park Or The Surrounding Area.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 4-0)
Status: (Passed) 2023-05-22 - Certified copies of resolutions sent. [SR198 Detail]
Download: Hawaii-2023-SR198-Amended.html
|
THE SENATE |
S.R. NO. |
198 |
|
THIRTY-SECOND LEGISLATURE, 2023 |
S.D. 1 |
|
|
STATE OF HAWAII |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
||
|
|
||
SENATE RESOLUTION
REQUESTING THE CITY AND COUNTY OF HONOLULU TO RELOCATE THE BUS TURNAROUND OFF MAKAU STREET TO KEAAU BEACH PARK OR THE SURROUNDING AREA.
WHEREAS, Makau Street is located in a residentially zoned neighborhood in Waianae, Oahu, situated between the world famous Makaha Beach Park to the south and Keaau Beach Park to the north; and
WHEREAS, due to the Makau Street neighborhood's idyllic and rural location, there are two public bus routes that service the area, known as TheBus's "Route C CountryExpress!" and "Route 93 Waianae Coast Express", by going past Kili Drive, exiting off of Farrington Highway and onto Lawaia Street, and thereafter using Makau Street to turn back eastbound on Farrington Highway; and
WHEREAS, Makau Street is a relatively narrow, unmarked two-way street encompassed by curbside parking on both sides, which can require pedestrians to enter the street to bypass parked cars; and
WHEREAS, many beachgoers and children use Makau Street to access the popular Makaha Beach Park, and residents have complained of speeding buses, which cause near accidents; and
WHEREAS, Makau Street has also been beleaguered recently by approximately thirteen water main breaks, and many residents have observed that the breaks have been repeatedly occurring near the corner where the heavy Route C double-buses exact pressure as they go around the southwest corner and accelerate to go up the hill; and
WHEREAS, while the Honolulu Board of Water Supply has attested that the traffic loading from a public bus should not have any adverse impacts to the existing water mains based on the current depths of their installation, and according to information provided, twelve of the thirteen incidents were due to unknown causes or had "no cause recorded", despite the fair to good conditions of each of the pipes; and
WHEREAS, the Honolulu Board of Water Supply has no current plans to replace the pipe at Makau Street as they have reprioritized their budget to focus on pipeline replacement projects for the Aiea and Halawa areas following the contamination crisis at the Red Hill Bulk Fuel Storage Facility; and
WHEREAS, rerouting the turnaround point for the Route C and Route 93 to the Keeau Beach Park parking lot could serve as a more functional, safe, and appropriate location by using open space public lands as opposed to a narrow road used for beach access by pedestrians; and
WHEREAS, in its current form, the Keeau Beach Park parking lot is too narrow to accommodate the Route C and Route 93 as a turnaround point; now, therefore,
BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Thirty-second Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2023, that the City and County of Honolulu is requested to relocate the bus turnaround off Makau Street to Keaau Beach Park or the surrounding area; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Resolution be transmitted to the Director of Transportation; Mayor of the City and County of Honolulu; Director of Transportation Services of the City and County of Honolulu; Director of Parks and Recreation of the City and County of Honolulu; and President and General Manager of Oahu Transit Services, Inc.
Makau Street; Public Bus Transportation; Keeau Beach Park; Improvement Project
