Thoughts about Honolulu’s complete streets

Last November, the Honolulu Urban Core Complete Streets Program invited community input during a series of public workshops and pop-up events. Urban Honolulu continues to grow and change, with increasing densification (high-rise apartment buildings) and transit-oriented development. The goals of the Complete Streets plan are to improve safety, accessibility, and comfort for all users, encourage physical activity, and reflect community needs and character.

The Honolulu Urban Core includes about 16 miles of roadways within downtown Honolulu, from North King Street and Downtown, through Kaka‘ako, Lower Makiki, and Moiliili,  that are planned for rehabilitation, repaving, or restriping.

I work in the Ward/Ala Moana area, and my son goes to school nearby, so the Complete Streets proposals will affect us almost every day. Our commute is about 10 hours during the weekday, and while it’s a big chunk of time, I know that it could be a lot worse. I try to see our commute as personal time with my son, asking him about school, going over homework, or letting him take a power nap.

I wasn’t able to attend the public workshops or pop-up events, but I decided that it’s not too late to share some of my thoughts, and answer the four questions they are using to plan our streets:

How do you move around the area? I drive to urban Honolulu every weekday morning, dropping my son off at school and picking him up after work. I rarely drive during the day – I am fortunate that I can walk to many of the places I need to go to (the bank, the post office, the grocery store). I appreciate the clean, uncluttered streets.

What streetscape features make your neighborhood unique? In my neighborhood, I appreciate wide and well-lit streets, and trees planted between lanes of traffic (though I understand that there are issues of tree maintenance and road upkeep). We have neighborhood entrance signs that make street corners more attractive and give us a sense of place and pride.

What obstacles do you encounter while traveling through the area? In downtown Honolulu, I feel anxiety about one-way streets and finding parking. In urban Honolulu, I feel stress from the lack of dedicated left-turn lanes along Kapiolani Avenue. At Neil Blaisdell Center, traffic often gets backed up on King Street when there are trade shows or events, because there are limited parking entrances.

How could better transportation options improve your everyday life? I would like to have more convenient access to downtown Honolulu somehow, without worrying about parking. Near my workplace, we do have transportation options — we are near a bus route (though it doesn’t take me to places that I need to go) and Biki stands (though I would not like to ride a bike in “work clothes”).

3 small, inexpensive improvements that work.

1. Wider striped crosswalk areas create a safer zone between vehicles and pedestrians.
2. A longer delay in traffic signals between “red” on one street and “green” on the cross-street allows a “grace period” for vehicles to complete turns and pedestrians to cross the street.
3. Buffered bike lanes with a designated space separating the bike lane from regular traffic.

3 costly, confusing changes that don’t work.

1. Sidewalk corner bulb-outs and midblock bulb-outs are less safe for vehicles and pedestrians crossing the street.
2. Urban roundabouts are more confusing than “stop” or “yield” signs, because there is no clear right-of-way.
3. Bike boxes that put bikes at the front of the lane.

Do you live or work in urban Honolulu? What do you think of the Complete Streets plan?

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Tags: Complete Streets, Honolulu Complete Streets, Honolulu Urban Core

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