A transportation program aimed at improving the safety of Hawaii’s roads and sidewalks could return to the Big Island under a new bill in the state Legislature.
Safe Routes to School is a federal program administered in Hawaii by the state Department of Transportation, which is dedicated to improving transportation infrastructure so that children are able to safely walk and bicycle to school. The program has funded projects on all of the Hawaiian Islands, but has been absent from the Big Island since 2020.
Tina Clothier, former executive director of People for Active Transportation Hawaii, a pedestrian advocacy nonprofit on the Big Island, said she was the Safe Routes coordinator for the Big Island and helped spearhead several improvement projects at schools across the island. But a state audit later led to the program’s special fund being cut in 2020, and the contract for the coordinator was cancelled.
Before that cancellation, Clothier said the program funded projects at schools including Chiefess Kapiolani Elementary School in Hilo, Kaumana Elementary School, the Volcano School of Arts and Sciences, Holualoa Elementary and more.
Those projects ranged from simple improvements to signage and crosswalks to help notify drivers of school zones, to a “shave and pave” project at Holualoa, where an embankment was cut back to provide a better walking space for students.
“If you’ve driven around the island, you know it’s not clear at all where school zones begin,” Clothier said, adding that making school zones clearer was her first priority for the Safe Routes program.
The program could be revived on the Big Island under Senate Bill 1506, which would expand the program into “Safe Routes for People,” a $30 million project to improve pedestrian and bike infrastructure for keiki and kupuna alike.
Gov. Josh Green said during a livestreamed interview Monday that he has full confidence the bill will pass, adding that the importance of the program was highlighted earlier this month, when 16-year-old Sara Yara was killed in a hit-and-run incident on Oahu by a drunk driver who was found to have at least 164 traffic infractions on his record.
“That’s $(30) million of extra safety, but all the safety in the world can’t necessarily stop people who are irresponsible and thoughtless,” Green said.
The Safe Routes for People program would be administered by a committee that would make recommendations for grant funding opportunities for improvement projects around the state. The project’s $30 million first-year budget would be 10 times as much funding as has been disbursed in the Safe Routes to School program throughout its entire lifespan.
Hilo Rep. Chris Todd, who co-introduced a companion bill, House Bill 1418, said the new program should be represented by a board that has representation from all of the islands. He said the DOT already has priority lists of sites across the state that are in need of safety improvements.
“There are some common-sense areas I think we all can agree on,” Todd said. “The most problematic place in Hilo is on Puainako Street, where you know there isn’t a lot of shoulder space to park on, and parents will park in the neighborhood and walk across the busy street to (Waiakea High School). There’s poor visibility … and where the road intersects with Kino‘ole Street, there’s no pedestrian support at all.”
Todd said improvements to unsafe areas could be as simple as elevated crosswalks to improve visibility or additional traffic signals, but could encompass broader changes.
“It ties into our larger traffic mitigation strategies,” Todd said. “The fact is, you can’t just build your way out of traffic. If you just do something like add a new lane, it’s not going to reduce traffic. That doesn’t work.”
Todd said that, as chair of the House Committee on Transportation, he is in a good position to ensure that some form of the program passes the Legislature.
While that committee substantially streamlined HB 1418, and now merely allocates an unspecified amount of funds to the DOT for bicycle and pedestrian safety, another bill introduced by other lawmakers, House Bill 600, is largely the same as SB 1506.
All three bills — SB 1506, HB 600 and HB 1418 — have passed all of their committee hearings in their respective chambers and await final reading before crossing over to the opposite chamber.
Email Michael Brestovansky at mbrestovansky@hawaiitribune-herald.com.