Roundabouts work
Roundabouts work
People worried about the future roundabout in Pahoa should visit Kauai.
Just west of Kapa‘a, there used to be a four-way stop that was a nightmare at rush hour. Traffic backed up for nearly a mile, and it took forever to get through the intersection. Blood pressure levels rose while gas tanks drained as cars inched along.
Then, a roundabout was put in. Now, the traffic flows smoothly in all directions, and there are no long delays, even at peak traffic times.
Tempers are soothed, gas bills are down and it’s a peaceful situation. Roundabouts are not difficult to get used to. Anyone who can’t learn to handle a roundabout should not be on the road.
Dan Lindsay
Hilo
Good president
Dennis Chaquette’s letter, “Obama’s legacy” (Tribune-Herald, Your Views), did a fine job of listing 10 of this president’s more significant accomplishments. What he failed to mention, however, might well be the most amazing accomplishment of all: doing this with an openly hostile House of Representatives opposing everything he has tried to do from the day he took office.
I’m a retired high school teacher, and I wonder what it would have been like to have had half of every class, on the opening day of school, fold their arms, refuse to see the value of anything I was attempting, work solely toward the goal of getting me removed, while complaining loudly to the world that they were learning nothing.
I certainly would not have lasted four, much less eight, years.
While I would never accuse any of our elected representatives of racism, they all know what it takes to get elected and re-elected back home, and the very idea of a black family occupying the White House has been a bitter pill for so many Americans to swallow. But the accomplishments of this administration are sure to impact all of us, and this could go a long way toward easing unfounded and irrational fears in future elections.
Dale E. Crabtree
Volcano
‘Stripe strategically’
The repaving underway on Kaumana Drive is fantastic! Work crews are keeping things safe, potholes are being filled and the road is becoming smooth!
Please, when it’s time to do the final striping, remember the pedestrians and cyclists. Some of the temporary striping marks in place now suggest nearly no shoulders or travel lanes will be established for those walking or biking from the neighborhoods. Instead, the pavement would be devoted almost entirely to giant lanes for cars only.
In doing the final striping, there seems to be more than enough room for cars and for other methods of transportation.
Stripe strategically! Narrower right-of-way widths lead to slower vehicular travel speeds and safer conditions for all.
The repaving effort is going great so far. Please, county Department of Public Works, see to it that it concludes in a safe way!
Shannon Waldron
Hilo