Letters for Tuesday, January 9, 2007

• Bypass does alleviate traffic

• Now a new front

• Big boxes and disaster preparation

Bypass does alleviate traffic

In response to Mike Manns’ letter of Jan. 4, “More roads aren’t the answer.”

Yes, Mr. Mann, I use that Kapa’a corridor on a regular basis and whether I am going southbound or northbound I use the Kapa’a bypass road. For you to make the statement that the bypass “has not alleviated traffic congestion through that corridor one bit” is absolutely ludicrous.

If that bypass road weren’t there the bumper to bumper traffic would be far worse than it is now — ask those who use it daily. Since the bypass road was put in a number of years ago, there has been an increase in population and vehicle usage and thus more traffic. Since you live in ‘Ele‘ele and not on the Eastside, it is possible that you are not as familiar with our needs as those of us who live here.

Our only hope for alleviating traffic is to open more of our cane haul roads and widen our highways. Or we could limit the amount of vehicles on our roads which could solve our problem but may be illegal. We live in a free society where we have the right to move about as we please and, Mr. Mann, make no mistake about it, the car or truck is and always will be the primary means of transportation for the mass of the people.

Oahu is proposing to spend about $5 billion on a 28 mile rapid transit system but I have factual proof that any bus or train system will only take about 5 percent of the cars off the roads. And before the system is operational the population increase will add more than the 5 percent decrease in vehicles.

And, Mr. Mann, if you and the few other people who want this bike/pedestrian path will live in the real world and find out what problems are associated with building this white elephant, you will see that it is a project in futility. As councilman Rapozo stated at the 1/3 Committee meeting, we have spent $50 million plus on this project to date. And all we have to show for it is a 2.5 mile pedestrian path in Lydgate Park — only a few casual bikers ever use it as true bikers won’t take the chance of hitting the walkers.

Again, live in the real world. To overcome the obstacles that this project brings up — land acquisition, land condemnation, illegal pavilions, routes, logistical problems like the path going through one of the busiest shopping centers on Kauai and crisscrossing Kuhio Highway a number of times, and maintenance cost— the price will be staggering!! If the short section completed and being worked on cost $50 million plus, the total cost of the path could easily be $200 million to $300 million or more.

And for what? A path that could be illegal under Federal and State guidelines and could cost this county millions of dollars in refunds.

Even if we disregard this fact (which is a distinct possibility) why are we attempting to spend obscene amounts of tax money and time on a project that is not even on the radar screen when it comes to prioritization?

Mr. Kiyabu was right on target again when he corrected Mr. Mann about the lane around the Island being for bikes and not for an auto pull out lane. The signs “Bike Lane” are there if one cares to read them. And yes, Mr. Mann, you are correct that these bike lanes are dangerous but they were put there to meet the Federal definition of a bike lane which shows that it was built for transportation and not recreation.

Mr. Kiyabu was right on target again in his letter of Jan. 2 where he said that the majority of people need to traverse the highways and this will be in their vehicle and not on a bike.

Kapa’a

Now a new front

We now enter a new phase in the battle to save our island from Wal-Mart. Over the weekend there was a mass mailing from some group calling itself Pulamakauai (protect Kaua‘i) as well as a half page ad in today’s paper. Obviously, big money is now being spent on this crusade to thwart Wal-Mart’s expansion. Not surprisingly, there are no names associated with these ads.

I can understand the attempt by the owners of Ishihara’s and Big Save to avoid competition by passing laws rather than having to upgrade their stores, offer better quality or service, or find unique niches. But they didn’t go out of business when Foodland, Safeway, and Star opened on Kaua‘i and they are unlikely to do so if Wal-Mart is allowed to expand. Quasi-monopolies breed complacency while competition benefits both sellers and buyers.

I can also understand the reality that all politicians are “for sale,” and are happy to support the desires of those who donate the most to political campaigns.

What I don’t understand why the few hundred people listed in the newspaper ad (out of close to 50,000 residents) have somehow bought in to the concept that accepting limited selections at higher prices will somehow “save” Kaua‘i and “take back control from Mainland corporations.” Other than a few locally grown or produced items, the vast bulk of goods on sale at all of our markets are imported from the Mainland and the bulk of our food dollars go to those manufacturers already. If basic needs — such as grocery and food items — were cheaper, perhaps some homeless might be able to afford housing or workers might be able to cut back to two jobs instead of three to make ends meet.

Another thing I don’t understand is why “affordable housing” is good while “affordable groceries” is bad. It seems as if a lot more people buy groceries over the course of a year than buy housing. I ask the county government to allow free enterprise to flourish and let the people decide where to shop. This would be the proper way to save Kaua‘i from the autocrats with the old plantation mentality.

Hanalei

Big boxes and disaster preparation

To us who have been through the hurricanes that hit Kaua‘i, access to the much-needed supplies was seriously lacking. The extensive inventories of big box stores can go a long way to helping Kaua‘i cope with serious catastrophes. Particularity to low-income or fixed-income families that need reasonable prices to stock up and/or replace needed supplies and equipment.

Lihu‘e