Kihei roundabout safe, but crossing still a problem | News, Sports, Jobs

The Kulanihakoi roundabout has been in long enough now for people to realize that they can drive around it safely, it doesn’t cause traffic jams and cars can easily come out of Kulanihakoi Street and head north.

So far, no accidents. Speeds are generally less than 20 miles per hour, so the goal of slowing people down around the school without inconveniencing them has been achieved.

The only thing really missing here is the ability for people to cross the intersection safely.

A Hawk signal is just like a regular overhead traffic signal except that it’s only for pedestrians. It looks like a conventional traffic signal. All traffic in the highway is required to stop just as at a regular intersection. The signal may be triggered on a need basis the way many of our intersections are or it may be programmed for certain predetermined times the way other intersections are managed.

The usage of a Hawk signal at the roundabout would allow for a much safer crossing than that used at Lipoa Street because there would not be fast-moving traffic. It is not possible to speed through a roundabout the way one can speed through a conventional intersection. Statistics show that pedestrian/vehicle accidents at lower speeds have a much higher survival rate.

Last night, we saw the first design for an overpass. It is a long time off to become a reality.

Many students will not bother to use it as has been shown in other high school overpasses.

Randy Wagner, AIA

Kihei

Today's breaking news and more in your inbox

ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7rq3UoqWer6NjsLC5jqinoqaZpLtwuMStq56qo2LBsHnToZxmnZSewbC%2Bjmtna2tfZn1wt8ihnKJloqTCr7DAm6aurF2orqexjJusrWWTp7y0v8innmarpJ65rXnAZqerp5Khsq57