Offensive Letter To The Editor About Puna

[Konaguy]

Re: Offensive Letter To The Editor About Puna

The problem the links you've provided is this fact, the County only recently is starting to address some of these infrastructure issues in Kona. In other words
yes there is a lot of roadway improvements planned according to the brochure.But they are happening (if at all) too late.

I say if at all because two major roads are tied up due to condemnation litigation and a burial in the ROW (Hokulia bypass and Ali'i Parkway). If these roads were
built already, it would help immensely improve the traffic flow.

Lastly in regards to the brochures, yes more money is being directed towards West Hawaii. But my gripe is too much money had been spent in Hilo in the past.

[sinjin]

Re: Offensive Letter To The Editor About Puna

Lastly in regards to the brochures, yes more money is being directed towards West Hawaii. But my gripe is too much money had been spent in Hilo in the past.

It would appear that the shafting you suggest does not exist. How far in the past are you referring to? I think you too easily discount the topographical challenges to transportation efficiency in the West as well as the effect the robust growth in real estate values has had on the commuting patterns there. Not to mention the population increase that is hard to accurately predict.

[Pua'i Mana'o]

Re: Offensive Letter To The Editor About Puna

The problem the links you've provided is this fact, the County only recently is starting to address some of these infrastructure issues in Kona. In other words
yes there is a lot of roadway improvements planned according to the brochure.But they are happening (if at all) too late.

I say if at all because two major roads are tied up due to condemnation litigation and a burial in the ROW (Hokulia bypass and Ali'i Parkway). If these roads were
built already, it would help immensely improve the traffic flow.

Lastly in regards to the brochures, yes more money is being directed towards West Hawaii. But my gripe is too much money had been spent in Hilo in the past.

C'mon man, you need to start backing up your claims.

[Konaguy]

Re: Offensive Letter To The Editor About Puna

Anyone who has lived here for awhile knows the score. A trip around Hilo and Kailua-Kona you can see the shaft job. I don't need a bunch of data to tell me what I already can see.

I don't expect you to understand my point of view, nor I really feel I should have to justify it either. I don't have all time in the world to research online my position on this matter. Maybe if you two paid me, I'd be more inclined.

[Pua'i Mana'o]

Re: Offensive Letter To The Editor About Puna

Anyone who has lived here for awhile knows the score. A trip around Hilo and Kailua-Kona you can see the shaft job. I don't need a bunch of data to tell me what I already can see.

I don't expect you to understand my point of view, nor I really feel I should have to justify it either. I don't have all time in the world to research online my position on this matter. Maybe if you two paid me, I'd be more inclined.

I say this with the utmost respect: I have long appreciated your passion and concern for Kona's issues, and do my best to read first, speak later. I have never doubted your sincerity on the issue, and while you are certainly entitled to your own opinions, you are not entitled to your own set of facts. You malign a nonexistent demon driven by your na'au. If we really wanted to be fair to the issue, Puna would be lumped in with Hilo and we would look at these issues in macro (traffic, expenditure, council representation, $$-driven, etc, demographics, land size). You should agree--your concern about the Kea'au bypass, which is located in Puna is something you see as a "Hilo issue".

None of my research is internet-sifted, btw. It is a rare occurence for me to say anything about the Big Island. But I have to call it as I see it, because, like you, I live it.

[Konaguy]

Re: Offensive Letter To The Editor About Puna

I say this with the utmost respect: I have long appreciated your passion and concern for Kona's issues, and do my best to read first, speak later. I have never doubted your sincerity on the issue, and while you are certainly entitled to your own opinions, you are not entitled to your own set of facts. You malign a nonexistent demon driven by your na'au. If we really wanted to be fair to the issue, Puna would be lumped in with Hilo and we would look at these issues in macro (traffic, expenditure, council representation, $$-driven, etc, demographics, land size). You should agree--your concern about the Kea'au bypass, which is located in Puna is something you see as a "Hilo issue".

None of my research is internet-sifted, btw. It is a rare occurence for me to say anything about the Big Island. But I have to call it as I see it, because, like you, I live it.

I disagree, I don't need to spend eons of hours to prove what I already know is a fact. What you see doesn't lie. I can only remember one instance that
I've been stuck in traffic in Hilo (and that was when school let out). Comparing that to Kona, its like night and day. Its like you can go crazy driving around Kona.

As much as I hate Hilo, I enjoy driving around it. As there is all these brand spanking new roads with less traffic.

Food for thought, I've lived in Kona 31 years (born and raised). I've been all around this island.Like it or not, there is a huge disparity between Hilo and the rest of the island infrastructure wise.

[sinjin]

Re: Offensive Letter To The Editor About Puna

Anyone who has lived here for awhile knows the score. A trip around Hilo and Kailua-Kona you can see the shaft job. I don't need a bunch of data to tell me what I already can see.

I don't expect you to understand my point of view, nor I really feel I should have to justify it either. I don't have all time in the world to research online my position on this matter. Maybe if you two paid me, I'd be more inclined.

Your immaturity thwarts your good intentions.

[sinjin]

Re: Offensive Letter To The Editor About Puna

Kona Roads

West Hawaii Traffic Problems—Chris Yuen, Planning Director, Hawaii County

(This is an expanded version of an article written for the Hawaii Island Journal, and published June 15, 2004. Material that is not in the Journal article is in parentheses here.)

Roads and Housing

To move toward solutions of the current West Hawaii traffic problem, we first have to identify root causes. Population growth is a big contributor, but something else is going on. From 1990 to 2000, the population of North and South Kona grew by about 24%, but traffic on portions of the Queen Kaahumanu Highway grew by more than 50%.

Why? The biggest reason is the commuting pattern. The long line of cars in Kona crawling north in the morning rush hour and south in the late afternoon mostly consists of people driving between their homes and work. (While people drive for all kinds of reasons, traffic in Kona is much worse in the early morning and late afternoon, when most people are driving to and from work.)

The commuting pattern, in turn, comes largely from the fact that ordinary workers cannot afford housing near their jobs. Most West Hawaii jobs are in the luxury resorts along the coast in South Kohala and North Kona, and in Kailua-Kona and Keauhou.

Few workers can live near the coastal resorts, and the median home price in North Kona has climbed past $400,000. Because they can’t afford to live closer to their work, employees commute from Oceanview, Pahala, Honoka’a, and even from Hilo and Puna. (Of course, many people choose to live in certain places because they like the area, or they have family there, or they grew up there, or for many other reasons, and accept the idea of commuting to work. Affordability is not the sole reason. People are free to live where they want, but the difficulty is that housing prices in North Kona and South Kohala especially are forcing people to live at great distances from their employment, even if they don’t want to. The census has a survey of how long it takes the typical person to commute to work. Residents of North Kona and South Hilo have significantly lower commuting times than those in other districts. This makes sense because most of the jobs are in North Kona and South Hilo.)

Most of this north-south commuter traffic moves on a single lane in each direction. Between Honalo and Captain Cook, the Mamalahoa Highway simply can’t carry large numbers of vehicles because almost every store and home has its own driveway opening directly onto the road. Each car stopping to turn left causes a wave of stopped cars rippling backward for miles.

Growth does more than add cars to the north-south commuting axis. As commercial development builds along the highway, side streets get busier, and soon you must add signal lights to safely move the traffic in and out. For example, Hina Lani had to be signalized in part because of Costco-generated traffic.

The signals, while making the intersections safer, cause further delays. In a few years, a driver on the main highway between the Kona Airport and the Kamehameha III intersection, a distance of about 12 miles, will probably encounter about 14 signal lights, versus 10 now, and only a couple twenty years ago.

The lack of connections between streets is a contributing factor. Most Kona subdivisions are on cul-de-sacs. Homeowners typically don’t want their streets to carry through traffic, but this disconnected pattern means that every trip uses the main highways. (While the County Planning Department and Public Works Departments are trying to implement street interconnectivity, this is often opposed by homeowners who want their streets to remain cul-de-sacs.)

Kealakehe High and Intermediate are the most glaring example of this lack of interconnectivity: they are only about 1.5 miles apart, but a parent dropping off a child at each school must make a detour of about 7 miles on congested roads.

........................................

Aaron,

Did you read this? I am 27 years in transportation engineering and I know when someone is telling it like it is. This man is doing just that.

[tikiyaki]

Re: Offensive Letter To The Editor About Puna

I disagree, I don't need to spend eons of hours to prove what I already know is a fact. What you see doesn't lie. I can only remember one instance that
I've been stuck in traffic in Hilo (and that was when school let out). Comparing that to Kona, its like night and day. Its like you can go crazy driving around Kona.

As much as I hate Hilo, I enjoy driving around it. As there is all these brand spanking new roads with less traffic.

Food for thought, I've lived in Kona 31 years (born and raised). I've been all around this island.Like it or not, there is a huge disparity between Hilo and the rest of the island infrastructure wise.

Just curious KonaGuy...What is it about Hilo do the you hate so much ?

[Konaguy]

Re: Offensive Letter To The Editor About Puna

Aaron,

Did you read this? I am 27 years in transportation engineering and I know when someone is telling it like it is. This man is doing just that.

Yes of course, I completely agree with his analysis. The condensed version of what he is saying is due to poor planning has precipitated this traffic nightmare (Not only in Kona, but in Kohala and Puna).

It doesn't take a rocket to see that the county over the years shoved all this development all around this island without adequate infrastructure. Hence the
infrastructure deficit and the long distances between jobs and housing.

[Konaguy]

Re: Offensive Letter To The Editor About Puna

Just curious KonaGuy...What is it about Hilo do the you hate so much ?

Condensed explanation of why I don't like Hilo much.

1. Rains too much for my tastes
2. One of the last bastions of the old boy mentality
3. Wields too much political power up until recently
4. hidden racist undercurrent

[alohabear]

Re: Offensive Letter To The Editor About Puna

Condensed explanation of why I don't like Hilo much.

1. Rains too much for my tastes
2. One of the last bastions of the old boy mentality
3. Wields too much political power up until recently
4. hidden racist undercurrent

As a life long Hilo resident I agree with you about our town. This being said, here's why I don't care for Kona....

1. Too hot and dry for my tastes
2. Traffic!
3. Vog
4. The tourist center Kailua(although I do love south Kona where my parents are from better).


Here's what I like about Kona....
1. The fishing and beaches
2. The feeling of racial harmony
3. Great dining and shopping
4. The sense of "old Hawaii" in the southern end of the district.


Aloha!

[craigwatanabe]

Re: Offensive Letter To The Editor About Puna

Although I'm originally from Oahu, I have had the opportunity to have travelled between Oahu and the Big Island since keiki time back in the early 60's. My dad grew up in Hilo since 1917 and is still alive to vividly recollect his memories of a growing Hilo.

That said, Hilo has changed...a lot. It rained so much everything was green green green including the sidewalks. Now it's as hot and dry as Honolulu.

Kona has changed...a lot too! Like Chris Yuen indicated, the problem with Kona was the lateral business development along it's coastline with very little being done to it's Mauka side.

Decades ago I remember watching from the Kona coast seeing vasts tracts of mountain sides around Holualoa being bulldozed to make way for gated subdivisions. Auwe I said to myself as the urban sprawl of Kona began.

Before Keahole Airport was built it was all lava land sold dirt cheap. I remember when the Queen K highway was built. Ho boy the reflectors lit up on that new highway and the bugs hit the headlights as you drove at night along that new stretch of road.

I always wondered growing up and visiting Kona how in the world they were going to develop this area and make it easy for commuters as everything was linear instead of hublike. One way in one way out. But Kona was a hot and dry and to me not a great place to live in. The sunsets were great but the setting sun also gave way to heating up all that lava land and keeping the evenings even warmer as the winds died down.

Hilo on the other hand albeit lotsa rain (back then in the 60's) was a more practical place to raise a family with it's family lifestyles. Remember Waimea was still that ranching community with the old Parker Ranch shopping center back then.

Back then in Kona it was all the King Kam and surrounding hotels on Alii Drive that put Kona on the map (and the Billfishing Tourney).

When Queen K was built, Waiakoloa village happened and the rest is history. Sprawl in two different directions and no supported long term design plan for West Hawaii.

It seemed West Hawaii was the cash cow for the Big Island designed for either farmers or hotels. Hmmm kinda like Waikiki. In both cases the farmers are slowly being squeezed out. But because the county seat resided in Hilo, and more people lived and worked in Hilo the county had to spend it's money where more constituents lived. But thru it all Kona developed regardless thru private monies from developers.

Now Kona has reached some level of parity with Hilo with it's own residents and growing economy, yet Hilo still takes for it's infrastructure leaving West Hawaii holding the short end.

From an outsiders perspective, I felt as I moved into lower Puna that the district of Puna would be a major player and could also be the diplomatic district to connect both East and West Hawaii thru it's shared representation in the County Council.

This is why I've always felt the expansions into Waiakea was the wrong move for our planners here on the Big Island and that the more logical direction was thru Puna in terms of business growth. The tourism growth is along that direction not thru Hamakua or thru Saddle Road.

It seems from Panaewa to Lower Puna commerce is growing in that direction out of Hilo, not mauka towards UH Hilo nor towards Hamakua.

With hugh chunks of residential property taxes being collected from lower Puna it seems logical to develop that area along Volcano Highway and inwards to Pahoa where growth has exploded.

I drive along the two expansions in Hilo Mauka and see very little traffic on those roadways. I drive along Pahoa highway and Volcano Highway and see gridlock.

Expansion thru lower/upper Puna, Volcano, Kau and into Kona seems the more logical route as there seems to be a bottle neck of traffic from Waimea into Kona already. Why add to that with expansions out of Hilo that will route thru these already congested areas.

What do I like about Hilo?

Reminds me of Honolulu 20-30 years ago when Honlolulu was a nicer place to live.

What do I like about Kona?

Hmmm great beaches but still a far cry from Oahu beaches. But compared to Hilo, much better.

But I do agree with Aaron that Hilo has always been the big brother to Kona and the little kid always gets the scraps at the dinner table.

[Konaguy]

Re: Offensive Letter To The Editor About Puna

Your immaturity thwarts your good intentions.

Now was that really necessary to say that. Yes I do have fiery opinions, and I can be very blunt about things. But the whole political correctness thing doesn't work for me.
On top of that, I don't need a bunch of data to show what I can already see with my eyes already. I see all the great roadway infrastructure Hilo has. While Puna residents and the rest of us are stuck in abominable traffic.

[tikiyaki]

Re: Offensive Letter To The Editor About Puna

That said, Hilo has changed...a lot. It rained so much everything was green green green including the sidewalks. Now it's as hot and dry as Honolulu.

What do I like about Hilo?

Reminds me of Honolulu 20-30 years ago when Honlolulu was a nicer place to live.

How is it that the weather has changed in Hilo that drastically?

Also, do you see Hilo developing like Honolulu or just kinda staying put like it is now ?