LIHUE — The Kauai County Council’s Planning Committee approved an ordinance that will be used as a guide for new developments to include walking, bicycling and public transportation as essential elements of Kauai’s roads and streets. “Moving into this multi-modal
LIHUE — The Kauai County Council’s Planning Committee approved an ordinance that will be used as a guide for new developments to include walking, bicycling and public transportation as essential elements of Kauai’s roads and streets.
“Moving into this multi-modal transportation ordinance is really thinking out of the box and into the future,” Councilman Ross Kagawa said.
Bill 2465 now goes before the full council Wednesday for second and final reading. It affects subdivisions in commercial, industrial and resort districts, and residential districts with four or more units per acre. It also includes a half-mile radius from schools or colleges.
The bill comes nearly three years after the council passed a Complete Streets Resolution, which on Sept. 15, 2010, adopted principles to ensure roadway design and planning would be balanced in accommodating and encouraging bicycling, public transportation and pedestrian traffic, including compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act.
“For community safety, pedestrian safety and accommodating people with disabilities, this is a critical shift we need to make,” Councilman Tim Bynum said.
In an ideal world, having development plans providing guidance on where to encourage pedestrian traffic, bikeways and connectivity between areas is important, Council Vice Chair Nadine Nakamura said.
“The fact is that we’re 30 or 40 years behind on this, because we haven’t been updating our development plans,” Nakamura said.
Councilwoman JoAnn Yukimura, who has been one of the major supporters of The Kauai Bus, said the county has to move into a Complete Streets direction for many reasons, including fuel prices, a better quality of life and safety.
“The path to complete streets in a multi-modal society appears one step at a time, and this is a big step forward,” she said.
Bynum, “100 percent supporter” of the bill, praised the collaboration between the council, the administration and Kauai residents, especially North Shore resident Carl Imparato, who worked diligently to ensure the North Shore’s rural character would be preserved.
Other council members also praised the government/citizens collaboration and highlighted Imparato’s participation.
Kagawa talked about the importance of debating “both ways” to be successful, and said he was glad Imparato spent some time to show the council the “other side,” and what could adversely happen.
Bill 2465 in on the council’s agenda for final reading at 9 a.m. Wednesday at the council chambers in the Historic County Building in Lihue.
• Léo Azambuja, staff writer, can be reached at 245-0452 or lazambuja@thegardenisland.com
