That’s not an exaggeration that’s what we’ve become. I’ve lived in many different cities and I can’t say that I’ve ever lived in a place like Oahu where every day those who drive cars on the road or walk on the road could potentially be turned into a killer or be killed in an accident. When I finally got to work that day, I found myself excitedly discussing my near-miss road experience with my co-workers as if I were Patrick Bateman confessing his crimes in “American Psycho.” I’ve turned out of the stoplight intersection from the shopping center onto Farrington Highway hundreds of times before, but this time, as I was turning left on a green arrow, a pedestrian jumped out of nowhere from the center median and ran right in front of my car.įortunately I was going slow enough to evade the man with seconds to spare, but it made me realize that pedestrians have to cross an extremely dangerous road that clearly was built in times past when traffic was sparse and slow, not heavy and fast, in a sleepy hollow town. I figured if I was going to be late, I might as well bring my co-workers some soup and sandwiches from the Kapolei Safeway as comfort food since the rainy weather had them trapped in the building all day. Just two weeks ago, I myself was late for work because I had to pick up a prescription from Kaiser’s West Oahu clinic. On many occasions I have seen pedestrians having dangerous close calls with cars there.Īnd those aren’t the only trouble spots on the island. ![]() Go to that intersection yourself and you will see what a nightmare it is in terms of situational awareness for both the pedestrians legally crossing the street and the drivers on the road. Places like the intersection of Kapiolani Boulevard and Kamakee Street, where a high school student was run over by a truck in February, are also built dangerously. Cars have to turn through intersections loaded with pedestrians, pedestrians often illegally sprint across four lanes of traffic in places where there is no crosswalk, and city buses have to maneuver aggressively either to go to bus stops or to get back on the road. My favorite danger zone? Try going through Beretania past the State Capitol into Chinatown. I guarantee that you will regularly see something dangerous happen, even under the best of conditions. I honestly encourage people to be responsible and alert drivers and to venture out on some of Honolulu’s roads and intersections during morning rush hour, lunch time or evening rush hour and see what happens firsthand. Pedestrians walk along Kamehameha Highway in Haleiwa town. The disrepair of our infrastructure, the weather and the confusion of traffic can all contribute to making an extremely chaotic and dangerous situation for everyone. ![]() You never want to have a system so hectic or so intense that it only works when people are 100% alert.ĭuring the intense rainstorms of the last months, we saw rock slides shut down roads, streetlights collapsing in the middle of traffic and too many unfortunate pedestrians hit by cars in intersections. I would argue, on the contrary, that Oahu is anything but safe for drivers or pedestrians. They say things to me like, “Danny, when roads are unstable and uncomfortable to drive on, it makes drivers more alert, causes them to drive slower, and thus makes things safer for pedestrians.” I meet esoteric “experts” like this all the time at parties and various events. Now I know that some of the wonkier policy people actually, secretly, like Oahu this way. We’ve lived with these problems for decades we’ve ignored these problems since forever, but at what point are we going to admit that this is no longer just a convenience problem but a pressing public safety issue? ![]() We also know that on top of all of this, Oahu’s roads are falling apart and some of the worst in the nation. We know that Oahu, especially downtown Honolulu, can be very annoying to drive and navigate at times. We know that much of Oahu’s infrastructure was built a century ago and for a much smaller population. City and state leaders, we urgently need to talk: Oahu is becoming a very dangerous place on the roads, both for drivers and pedestrians alike.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |