Traffic nightmare
On Wednesday, July 5, it took me nearly two hours to drive from the ‘Oma‘o truck lane through the “tree tunnel” merge heading toward Lihu‘e, a distance of just over 3 miles.
There were hundreds of cars that were similarly delayed in both directions. I’m sure that many were on their way to the airport and may have missed their flights.
I can’t believe that this delay could be justified in any sense. It seems to me that those causing such a delay should have been charged with criminal obstruction.
As near as I can tell, the Kaua‘i Police Department made no effort to resolve this horrendous traffic backup.
I can understand that we may occasionally suffer delays due to maintenance work, etc., but this is ridiculous.
Steve Hansen, Kalaheo
Bicycle safety
Aloha, just wanted to see if anyone else had concerns about young children riding electric bikes on our county roads. They not only are not required to learn rules of road safety, but not required to wear helmets.
This is like a disaster waiting to happen. We as adults need to take precautions for our children. We need to implement some guidelines and rules for their safety before a tragic event happens.
Linda Bothe, Kalaheo
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Mr Hansen , more people need to let the “authorities” know that we won’t stand for these traffic fiascos anymore. What is it going to take, someone needing to get to the hospital and doesn’t make it due to someone holding a slow -stop sign directing traffic? If you get stuck in one of these nightmare situations please don’t just sit there, CALL the mayor’s office where you will be directed to DOT. Let your voice be heard. Theses tree trimming episodes don’t have to be this way. This is a traffic emergency and should be handled by people trained to direct traffic, not hold a sign!
I’ve both worked such positions, and supervised operations like it. The major problem (other than too many vehicles and one lane) is that the flaggers, IMHO, are allowing cars to back up for literally miles…I’ve counted as many as 200 vehicles in passing one stopped platoon…before switching the flow. The flows should (barring emergencies) reverse no less often than every 10 minutes. The same number of vehicles will flow in a given period of time, but the drivers will be a whole lot less frustrated and less likely to make mistakes. It really is extremely frustrating…I once had to resched a doc appt I’d been waiting on for months…’cuz it took me over an hour to get from Kalaheo to Knudsen Pass.
What the tree trimmers and every other contractor working in the right of way is allowed to do by holding traffic for extended periods is ABSOLUTLEY INEXUSABLE. It is irresponsible miss management by Public works and Dept. of Transportation employees. We sat in one place for over an hour. I called the County of Kauai, was told that hwy 50 is the DOT’s, so I called them and complained. BOTTOM LINE: when you hold traffic like that, it does not allow first responders to Provide emergency services in an efficient and timely manner to save someone’s life. It disrupts business, people’s doctors appts, and so on. Flaggers manage traffic. One direction for 5 minutes, then the other direction for 5 minutes. If the individuals that are responsible for anyone working in the public right of way are not capable of doing their job, it is time to fire some people and hire ones that are willing to work! Strongly suggest everyone stuck in this inexcusable traffic mess to call the mayor every time.