Kaleiopapa Speedway
Kaleiopapa Speedway
A potential danger
We purchased a condo in the Mauna Loa Village Resort on Kaleiopapa Street in 2006. This street is the only route to the Sheraton Keauhou Bay Resort and Spa and the Keauhou marina from Alii Drive. Many of the members of the canoe club regularly walk to and from the marina in the morning, along with countless walkers, most of them seniors and parents with small children, including some in strollers.
Beginning around sun-up, cars and trucks race up or down this street at speeds in excess of 50 mph while the tour buses drive this route at approximately 40 mph. Motorcycles occasionally hit speeds estimated at 60 mph. The number of speeding vehicles increases again between 4 and 6 p.m.
Many, if not most, of these passenger vehicles are driven by people who work either at the Sheraton, who are in a hurry to get to or leave from their shifts throughout the day and night, or people who are going to the marina. The fact there is not a single speed limit sign in either direction doesn’t discourage speeding.
I have seen only one vehicle stopped for a traffic violation along Kaleiopapa Street during the six years we have lived here.
Unless some changes are made, there is going to be a serious vehicle or pedestrian accident some day.
In addition to the erection of speed limit signs in both directions, I highly recommend installation of a speed bump across the width of the entire street somewhere near the entrance to the Mauna Loa Village Resort.
Bill Crane
Kailua-Kona
Vehicle registration
Increase outrageous
I cannot understand why more people have not been screaming about the outrageous increase this year in car registration.
To illustrate: My registration went from $92 to $144.50 — a 52.5 percent increase. My son’s went from $88 to $135.50 — a 64 percent increase.
What is the state doing for us that requires such a nasty grab of our hard-earned money?
I know Kona road construction is going on, but why such a jump in the fees? Why is it that Saddle Road is a super highway on the Hilo side and a potholed lane as it comes to Kona?
Does the county need the money to pay off its very expensive new Kona civic center or to continue building a lot of nice roads for Hilo?
Check it out folks, if the county ups your next year’s fees as much as it did this year, percentage-wise my car registration will cost $220 and my son’s $222. And we have small, older cars. Pity the person with the heavy SUV.
Joan Bowden
Kailua-Kona