8/2/24 #kihei

Have you heard of Vision Zero? 

Vision Zero is a strategy in Hawaii that aims to eliminate traffic fatalities and severe injuries while improving transportation options for all. The strategy is based on the belief that traffic deaths are preventable through better roadway environments and policies that reduce the severity of crashes. It also emphasizes community engagement, especially with communities that are disproportionately affected by crashes

Zero Maui    

The Maui Metropolitan Planning Organization has an advisory group for Vision Zero Maui that includes representatives from various agencies and organizations.  https://mauimpo.org/document/mayor-victorino-vision-zero-proclamation 
 
So how is this performing in Hawaii??    State officials report an increase in traffic-related fatalities statewide. According to Hawai‘i Department of Transportation, 59 people have been killed on Hawai‘i roads from Jan. 1 to July 27. This is a 17% increase from the 49 fatalities reported during the same time last year. Approximately 40% of those killed on the roads were pedestrians and bicyclists. There have been seven more pedestrian deaths this year compared to the same time last year.
 
We are aware that in South Maui there are very few sidewalks and bike paths, and the bike lanes we have are few and not well maintained.  SEE  https://gokihei.org/environment/why-can-the-manini-bike-lanes-in-north-kihei-not-be-kept-safe-for-cyclists
Now one positive action to reduce traffic related deaths in South Maui was achieved by the State Department of Transportation (HDOT): construction of a roundabout on the Pi’ilani Highway.

HDOT installed crosswalks “protecting” pedestrians with a YIELD (not a STOP) signal for drivers at the roundabout which fortunately cannot be used

 

A barricade with  a closed sign is placed on sidewalk by the crosswalk and the push button yield flasher at Kulanihako’i and Pi’ilani Highway due to the failure of State agencies to provide a safe crossing

 
But that action was nullified when the State Department of Education (HDOE) , with tacit approval of HDOT, refused to build the required grade-separated pedestrian crossing before the school opened. That action resulted in the total absence of pedestrian and bicycle use to the school for years.  https://mauinow.com/2024/05/24/final-eis-published-for-piilani-highway-overpass-project/
 
The result is walking and cycling are unsafe in our district  and because so many fear for their safety on our streets, there is no true freedom of mobility, and, as a result, we compromise our public health with increasing rates of sedentary diseases and higher carbon emissions.
So we know the problem and the solution, but the missing element is implementation. No safe place by the outstanding new High School to cycle or walk. Take your chances on the manini road shoulder of the highway. Much of South Kihei Road  (SKR) has no sidewalk and not even a shoulder. A former Mayor promised one mile of new sidewalk on SKR in North Kihei, but not an inch was constructed there in his four years in office.
 

How difficult would it be to convert this dirt road into a complete street for our community to use for multimodal transportation across Kihei?

 
The Waipuilani bike path spent years getting approved over a decade ago, then abandoned,  https://gokihei.org/environment/the-next-bike-path-for-kihei-waipuilani 
Progress on future segments of the North South Collector Road, a complete street, drags on and on.
 
Thus it appears “Vision Zero” is in fact a  mirage, an apparition, an illusion rather than a strategy here, with almost zero actions.
 

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