REPRESENTATIVE GENE WARD, PH.D.
Minority Leader Emeritus HAWAI‘I STATE CAPITOL, Room 318 – HONOLULU, HAWAI‘I
February 6, 2015
The Honorable Kirk Caldwell
Mayor, City and County Honolulu
Honolulu Hale
Honolulu, Hawaii 96813
REQUEST FOR LED UPGRADE OF KALANIANAOLE HIGHWAY CROSSWALK
Dear Mayor Caldwell,
I am writing to you regarding a very dangerous Hawaii Kai crosswalk. Last month, a 12-year old girl was hit by a car while crossing Kalanianaole Highway near Portlock Road in Hawaii Kai. She was in the designated crosswalk area, but since the road has been repaved, the crosswalk has not been repainted. In light of the recent accident, and the countless others in past years at this same location it is time to update the crosswalk to the most recent LED technology in order to keep our citizens safe from harm.
LED lit crosswalks flash during the day as well as at night. The flashing lights become visible only once the pedestrian button is activated. The repaving of Kalanianaole Highway presents an opportunity for the City and County of Honolulu to update the crosswalks to make the roads safer and more reliable for pedestrians.
Although flashing LED crosswalks are more costly than simply painting stripes on the pavement they are necessary for Hawaii to continue moving forward in traffic safety technology.
As our mayor I request that you put the crosswalk safety foremost on your agenda for Hawaii Kai. Please install a LED crosswalk at the intersection of Kalanianaole Highway and Portlock Road and let it be the beginning of many updated crosswalks by the City and County of Honolulu on the island of Oahu.
I look forward to your favorable consideration of this request.
Mahalo,
Representative Gene Ward
Hawaii Kai – Kalama Valley
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