Despite some misgivings from residents, Hawaii County still plans to build a roundabout to improve a dangerous Waikoloa Village intersection.
The Department of Public Works published on Wednesday a final environmental assessment for a project to build a two-lane roundabout at the intersection of Waikoloa Road, Paniolo Avenue and Pua Melia Street.
Currently, the intersection is a two-way stop, with stop signs controlling northbound and southbound traffic, while east/west traffic on Waikoloa Road — the primary ingress and egress for Waikoloa’s approximately 7,400 residents — is uncontrolled. This arrangement has made the intersection dangerous for drivers, and the final EA cites four major collisions at the intersection between 2016 and 2020.
“Visitors, sometimes they don’t know what to do when they get to the intersection and can hold up traffic that way,” said Waikoloa Councilman James Hustace. “As the village keeps growing, this is something we have to address.”
Hustace said a roundabout serves to slow traffic coming through the intersection — preventing vehicles on Waikoloa Road from speeding through heedlessly — while still keeping traffic moving. He also noted the arrangement of a roundabout makes it less likely for “T-bone” collisions between vehicles.
According to the final EA, the county’s plan would create a two-lane roundabout around an interior circle about 150 feet in diameter. Each approaching road would have at least two lanes, with westbound Waikoloa Road and northbound Pua Melia Street both having right-turn bypass lanes that skirt the roundabout itself.
The plan estimates that the typical traffic speed within the roundabout would be 15 mph to 20 mph.
Crosswalks would be included at each road, along with pedestrian crossing warning lights. The arrangement of the roundabout means that three of the four road crossings require three separate crosswalks between the divider islands.
Hustace noted that roundabouts in general tend to have a learning curve for some drivers, and said that some public education might be necessary for people to be comfortable with the concept.
The assessment posits that the disadvantages of a roundabout — a higher cost, unfamiliarity among drivers, and a longer travel path for pedestrians — “can be mitigated with adequate training, public notice, directional signage and practical experience over time.”
Some Waikoloa residents disagree, however. The EA includes several emails from residents submitted during the public comment period for the draft EA who strongly urged the county to reject a roundabout in favor of a simpler traffic light for the intersection — or, at least, to install a traffic light while developing the roundabout.
“Every day I drive this intersection and the mass confusion that takes place makes me realize a roundabout will only ADD to the chaos and confusion,” wrote Melanie Thomas last April. “I also drive the Mauna Lani roundabout (at the Mauna Lani Drive and Kaniku Drive intersection) and I can’t even describe the traffic violations that occur frequently. People apparently can’t read signs.”
The Waikoloa Village Association submitted a lengthy letter in March arguing for a traffic light, and passed a nonbinding resolution in 2023 requesting that the county pursue a traffic light rather than a roundabout.
The final EA may not allay residents’ concerns. Resident Michael Phillips said Wednesday a traffic light would be preferable not just because it’s simpler.
“There needs to be some mechanism in place to stop traffic entirely occasionally,” Phillips said, explaining that drivers leaving or entering driveways and pedestrians trying to cross the street need periods of time during whichthey know there is no cross traffic coming.
“With roundabouts, traffic just doesn’t stop,” he said.
Phillips said the project will put pedestrians at more risk, and many drivers already ignore pedestrian crossing lights now.
“I’m 110% sure we’ll see pedestrian fatalities at the roundabout once it’s built,” Phillips said.
The assessment estimates the project would cost $5.7 million to construct, not counting the cost necessary to acquire about 29,000 square feet of land at the corners of the intersection to accommodate the expanded intersection. The document does not suggest when construction could begin, but estimates it would take 18 months to complete once it does.
The assessment found that the project would have no significant environmental impact.
The final EA can be viewed at tinyurl.com/2v3xyzf8.
Email Michael Brestovansky at mbrestovansky@hawaiitribune-herald.com.
