Hamakua Entrance Project, Kailua Town – March 2016
Proposal –
Current Condition Summary:
The Hamakua Drive entrance to Kailua Town has over time also become the main entrance to the Kailua Gardens condominiums. The Windward Town & Country Plaza shopping center and those condominiums occupy the two makai corners of that Hamakua/Aoloa intersection. A group of Kailua businesses operate along Hamakua Drive on the opposite side bordering Hamakua Marsh.
Surrounding that intersection the following are apparent:
A) Dangerous crosswalks limiting access to the merchants along Hamakua Marsh –
B) Outdated state of Kailua Gardens’ Hamakua Drive Entrance Treatment –
C) Shabby commercial aspect of Town & Country Plaza property –
Current conditions:
A) Dangerous crosswalks limiting access to the merchants along Hamakua Marsh –
The speed of drivers along Hamakua Drive is inconsistent with the current and potential amount of pedestrian traffic that might otherwise frequent the Hamakua Marsh businesses.
This intersection at the corner of Kailua Town marks the transition between Hamakua’s retail and commuter sectors. Kailua Gardens’ 1006 residential units add their share of traffic. The crosswalks are lengthy and unnerving to use due to driver’s speed and the curve and slope of the roadbed. The posted speed is 25 MPH, the actual speeds are clearly higher.
B) Outdated state of Kailua Gardens’ Hamakua Drive Entrance Treatment –
The Hamakua entrance to Kailua Gardens was never upgraded to a design of comparable stature to its Kailua Road entrance. The diminutive appearance at Hamakua seems only an afterthought, lacking the dignity of the magnificent Banyan trees, areca palms and lava rock structures at Kailua Road.
C) Shabby commercial aspect of Town & Country Plaza property –
The rump of the adjacent Plaza property consists of loading docks, rough storage, and garbage dumpsters for disposal/pickup serving all Plaza tenants. Commercial usage abutting residential property leads to an assortment of varying conflicts
– Assaults on our senses
- open smelly dumpsters
- all manner of broken/discarded retail and shipping equipment
- 55 galleon drums of unknown content
- spilled material
- noisy semi-trailers for delivery and refrigeration
- litter; garbage, organic, trash
- forklift
- an abused chain-link fence
- early am shipping noise
- loud vulgarities from overnight loiterers
– Security
- vermin
- poor lighting
- water and soil runoff over sidewalk from bare earth through fence
- sanitation, public health issues
- late night drug commerce
The utilization of that end of the Plaza property is none-the-less largely consistent with its original design, and meets the needs of its commercial occupants. That usage is unlikely to change in any material way.
Action Rationale:
A significant visual and socioeconomic improvement at the Hamakua Drive / Aoloa Street intersection however can be made regardless of what transpires on the Plaza property.
Architectural landscaping in and around the intersection can result in traffic calming and thus decrease risk to pedestrians and vehicular traffic.
This landscaping improvement would in addition finally end the continuing extent to which the unfinished Kailua Gardens Hamakua gate structure and seedy character of the adjacent property has become part of the definition of Kailua Gardens. Residents have likely become inured to the eyesores, but consider the current condition pressed into the perception of a prospective buyer, or a new visitor to the neighborhood.
Proposed Solutions:
Traffic Calming measures as outlined below would be an appropriate solution to the now unruly Hamakua/Aoloa intersection. Landscaping modifications on the two makai corners and the installation of a single-lane mini-roundabout would together result in the long term goal of efficient traffic flow at safer speeds.
From the “Model Design Manual for Living Streets.”, Los Angles County, 2011, the following are specifically called out as appropriate traffic calming tactics for boulevards in the 20-35 mph+ category:
- Entrance Features (architecture/landscaping/monument) [at points of traffic transition]
- Building up to the Right-of-Way
- Street Trees
- Roundabouts
- Reductions in number of lanes or lane width
- Medians and Pedestrian Refuge Islands
- Bulb-outs [curb extensions]
All of these features are part of the HEAG proposed integrated solution for the Hamakua/Aoloa intersection. The rock planters bordering Aoloa and around the immediate adjoining lengths of Hamakua are examples of “building up to the right-of-way” which improves safety in this setting.
In the Geometric Design chapter of the latest edition of “Roundabouts: An Informational Guide”, Sections 6.7.3.3 and 6.7.3.4 each end with a similar paragraph:
“In most cases it is best to provide no more than the minimum required intersection sight distance on each approach. Excessive intersection sight distance can lead to higher vehicle speeds that reduce the safety of the intersection for all road users (motorists, bicyclists, pedestrians). Landscaping can be effective in restricting sight distance to the minimum requirements.” (6.7.3.4)
The proposed rock walls and vegetation provide this traffic visibility as recommended.
The “Guide” is a 400 page core document for roundabout applications, design guidance, operational analysis, etc. for professionals and the layman.
See the “Traffic -” menu item for much more on traffic context and mini-roundabouts. Also an explanation of “Courtesy Poles” which are an innovative way for motorists and pedestrians to communicate.
Thanks for your reply. I appreciate your taking the time.
I must admit I am also not sure we want emergency respones vehicles tangled up in round abouts and one lane traffic on significant thoroughfares.
That artery is the central accessway for Keolu Hills and Enchanted Lake residents to get to and through town. Simply not enough people had any idea this was happening. It is a blindsiding.
States across the country are building more and more Roundabouts. I doubt they would be doing so if their emergency vehicles were becoming entangled in them. Roundabouts are designed to UNtangle traffic, and keep it moving.
1) The end of this article includes the following:
Chico [Calif.] built a roundabout right in front of its fire station, with the full participation of its emergency personnel. The result was an improvement in emergency response, according to Chico Fire Chief James Berry. “During rush hour they are quicker and safer than most controlled intersections during an emergency response,” Berry said, because traffic is backed up less, there is no cross traffic and there’s no need to go against traffic to get the fire trucks through.
2) See the second page of this Pamphlet
3) The first video on this page, How About a Roundabout?, includes comments of another Fire Chief agreeing with the above.
I expect the recent traffic engineering changes along Hamakua Drive have been designed in part to encourage Keolu Hills and Enchanted Lake residents who intend to drive “through” Kailua to instead use Keolu Drive to directly access Kalaianaole Highway as a quicker route to their destinations.
RCGratz
The Hamakua Group.
Beautiful sounding design. So much intelligence and hard work had obviously gone into this, and ecological thinking. Public transportation accommodations don’t appear in the scope. Limiting numbers of cars can be accommodated by better access to buses. The other thing on Hamakua thus far is a net loss of parking spaces and no extra parking for this growing community whatsoever. Yikes.
I certainly agree the more effective our public transportation system the fewer cars on the road, leading to safer streets, less energy use and less pollution on many levels. The thing is we’re rather overwhelmed already by the efforts in which we’re current involved and those yet to be announced.
Over the last 18 months, as we spoke with our retail supporters along Hamakua Drive they all agreed with your assessment of a parking shortage. Based on their input we actually added a few street parking places. No parking was lost as a result of The Hamakua Group’s plan.
The traffic striping that’s been done over the last few weeks along Hamakua Drive as far as I know was not based on The Hamakua Group’s design, but on that of the City & County.
RCGratz
The Hamakua Group.