• Kauai drivers hard to figure • Kuamoo traffic needs solution • There are benefits to dairy
Kauai drivers hard to figure
I frequently travel from Lihue to Kapaa by way of Kapule Highway and Kuhio Highway. I find it very interesting and amusing that many drivers on Kapule Highway travel between the airport and the connection with Kuhio Highway at speeds of between 40 and 45 mph while the speed limit on that stretch is 50 mph. While at the same time, they travel on Kuhio Highway between Kapule Highway and Wailua at between 45 and 50 mph where the speed limit is 40 mph. Human nature, I guess!
Dave Stokley, Lihue
Kuamoo traffic needs solution
The traffic situation on Kuamoo Road has become ridiculous. The morning traffic routinely backs up all the way to the top of the hill — that’s 1.4 miles! It can take 20-30 minutes to get to the intersection at Kuhio Highway.
The traffic moving southbound through that intersection thins out to only a few cars by 7:30 a.m., yet several hundred vehicles are stuck on the hill.
Why doesn’t the HDOT do something about this? If they simply reprogrammed the light to give Kuamoo traffic a bit more green light in between 7 to 7:45 a.m. would not significantly slow the southbound traffic, yet would clear the huge jam that occurs daily on Kuamoo.
We need someone from local government to step up, contact HDOT and fix this easily corrected situation.
John Patterson, Kapaa
There are benefits to dairy
The Kauai dairy might return Poipu/Koloa back to kamaaina!
I live in prime cattle country. A 700- to 2,000-cattle operation will surely impact land and water, creating stench and bugs for miles. So what? There’s a cost to doing business. Prosperity is generated by private enterprise, and irresponsible governments should move aside.
Too bad jobs will be lost in Poipu construction and tourism industries (laborers, waiters etc.), but they seem low-paying and menial for proud islanders.
Sadly, tourism profits are sucked abroad by foreign-owned Poipu hotels. But the dairy is local, presumably with good new jobs and huge profits for Kauai.
Many say Poipu/Koloa real estate will collapse, due to smells, bugs and water contamination; but islanders might once again afford to buy homes there.
Poipu/Koloa tax revenue will tumble, but the dairy will pay new taxes, and property tax increases Kauaiwide will offset the South Shore shortfall, no problem. Fewer rental cars destroying roads to Koloa means lower county maintenance costs.
Are all Poipu resorts opposing the dairy? No, because if/when they close, their tax write-offs could be huge, and applied to offset their Mainland revenues. Closures can be good for distressed businesses, compared to down-sizing, to avoid paying severance and other liabilities.
But small local rental and souvenir shops are resilient and could easily relocate elsewhere in Hawaii. Another benefit: the dairy forces healthy lifestyle changes for repeat Poipu visitors. They will seek and discover breathtaking new destinations worldwide, at a fraction of Poipu costs!
Mitch Momann, Rocky View, Alberta
