County Council members are frustrated that the repair work on Waianuenue Avenue in Hilo does not appear to conform with their expectations.
At a meeting of the Committee on Public Works and Mass Transit last week, council members requested an update from the Department of Public Works about the ongoing rehabilitation work on Waianuenue. The work began in February, when it was estimated to be completed by the end of the year.
And while acting DPW Director Steven Pause was unavailable at last week’s meeting — pushing the discussion to a future date — council members took the opportunity to criticize how the project is shaping up.
In particular, they highlighted a series of county initiatives that are seemingly not being adopted in the Waianuenue project. Despite the county’s efforts to adopt Complete Streets principles — which enable safe use for all users, including drivers, pedestrians and cyclists — the repairs to Waianuenue do not appear to include bike lanes.
“We’re not adopting these policies and issuing proclamations to feel good,” said Puna Councilwoman Ashley Kierkiewicz. “We’re doing them because we believe this is the best thing for our community. … We really need to understand who is in charge of making decisions to disregard these policies, and why.”
Hilo Councilman Aaron Chung lamented the plight of people who have to regularly travel on Waianuenue, calling the road’s years-long state of disrepair “one of the failures of (his) time” on the council, adding that plans to fix the road have been discussed by at least two previous administrations, to no avail.
“(My discussions with DPW) were not as in-depth as they should have been, apparently, with regard to bike paths,” Chung said. “I don’t know exactly what constitutes Complete Streets, but at least include bike paths, because it does go by three schools.”
Testifiers before the meeting, including Jessica Thompson, executive director for People for Active Transportation Hawaii, urged the county to include bike paths on the road. Thompson noted that other recent road projects in the county, including projects on Kilauea Avenue and Alii Drive, also failed to adopt Complete Streets principles, which are supported by the U.S. Department of Transportation.
“Leadership at the County of Hawaii has been receptive to these ideas,” Thompson said. “However, where the rubber meets the road, or where the paint meets the road in this instance, it appears to be business as usual.”
With Pause absent from the meeting, answers will have to wait until next week when the council reconvenes.
Email Michael Brestovansky at mbrestovansky@hawaiitribune-herald.com.