Information about the plan will be posted at hawaiilongrangeplan.com.
BY ERIN MILLER
WEST HAWAII TODAY
emiller@westhawaiitoday.com
It’s easier to draw a road on paper than to build it.
But at least it’s a first step.
Later this month, state Department of Transportation officials will gather West Hawaii residents’ input for a new long-range, regional transportation plan, the intent of which is to define transportation goals and needs for the island.
The department last updated its long range land transportation plans in 1998.
“We have an idea of where problem areas are, but the best people to point those problems out are the people who drive there every day,” DOT spokesman Dan Meisenzahl said. “The more eyes out there the better.”
DOT officials will take road feedback and input to create the plan at a meeting 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Feb. 28 at Kona Outdoor Circle, and 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. at the Puueo Community Center in Hilo. Officials will then return to the Big Island, possibly this summer, to get feedback on the plan.
Hawaii Island has grown significantly since 1998, Meisenzahl said, meaning priority areas could be different now than those identified nearly 15 years ago. For example, he said, while widening Queen Kaahumanu Highway from Kona International Airport to Waikoloa Road was listed on the previous plan, the need to do so now may be greater than it was in 1998.
Widening roads was a theme of the earlier plan. Some of the projects have been completed or are, at least, under way, such as work on Saddle Road, Meisenzahl said. County projects, including the midlevel road, were also included. Two sections of that project, then referred to as extending Henry Street, will be complete by May, thanks to the county receiving federal stimulus funding.
Other projects, including adding lanes to the northern portions of Queen Kaahumanu Highway, haven’t happened.
An updated long-range plan will help the state determine which projects need to be addressed first, Meisenzahl said.
“There’s obviously not enough funding to do everything we need to do,” he added. “We need to prioritize.”
West Hawaii residents at a Kona Town Meeting quizzed DOT officials about other road concerns, noting issues heading south of Kailua-Kona, with significant traffic back up in Honalo and Kainaliu. Meisenzahl said that’s the kind of feedback the department is hoping to hear — instructions from the community on where to look for problems.
The plan isn’t just about building or widening roads, he added. He said officials also want to know about road repair concerns and other issues. The plan will help guide the department’s policies and programs through 2035, officials said.
Information about the plan will be posted at hawaiilongrangeplan.com.