A long-overdue alternate route for Kaua‘i’s traffic from Lihu‘e to the Westside needs to be implemented now!
As my daughter, her husband, his mother and their 7-month and 3-year-old were on their way to our Christmas Eve get-together in Wailua, we got the dreaded call. There had been an accident — AGAIN! — that was snarling the traffic for hours and hours.
Thanking God they were all right and not a part of the tragic outcome, we thought about just how many lives were being affected simply because there is no alternate route to pass through that area. This is not the first time plans of ours have been squelched due to an accident in this same area. It certainly is time the county make adjustments for situations like this Christmas-Eve tragedy.
Last year this time friends of ours missed their flight due to a senseless accident again near Halfway Bridge. Shame on the county government for not coming up with a solution to this tragic-but-real problem. They cannot continue to have that many people’s lives affected because of a two-car accident.
Let’s get real. Open those cane roads on these extreme occasions like they do from Kapa‘a to Lihu‘e. To have to wait four to five hours as things get measured and cleaned up is absurd! And we all know these types of tragedies will continue to occur.
Also, why not designate a policeman or appropriate person to either bull-horn or somehow communicate to all the unfortunate persons who are trapped in these unforeseen circumstances so they can either tum around or seek refuge somewhere else rather than having to sit and wait, not knowing what is going on up ahead.
Not everyone has a cellphone or the ability to call the radio while driving (thought that was a law!). The response regarding Westside car accidents has always been an issue, but come on. 2021 is the year to fix this delicate-but-very-serious problem!
Don’t use money as an excuse, either, as all Kaua‘i’s communities that were affected on Christmas Eve have a right to expect alternate routes under these extreme and tragic circumstances!
Finally, our hearts and prayers go out to the persons affected by the Christmas Eve tragedy car accident!
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Pua Beach is a resident of
Anahola.
