This year’s City Council actions on the City’s FY 17 operating and CIP budgets (via Ordinances 16-14 and 16-15) included a variety of provisions to provide more advance notice of proposed Complete Streets improvements in/around Liliha and Nuuanu neighborhoods, and to solicit ongoing feedback from residents and businesses.
Thanks to your Neighborhood Board’s active involvement via resolution (Supporting Pedestrian Safety Features as a Key Element of Liliha “Complete Streets” Improvements), the City Council was able to include requirements for pedestrian safety in this year’s budget. Ordinance 16-15 includes appropriations requiring pedestrian safety improvements along with bikeways that may be installed at the time that streets are repaved and restriped:
- $135 million (repaving of sections of Nuuanu Avenue, Pali Highway (from vineyard Boulevard to Beretania Street), Iholena Place and other roadways,
- $185,000 to complete the Kuakini Extension and provide improvements to connect Kuakini Street to Hala Drive (contract oversight/management),
- $600,000 to undertake planning/design for Complete Streets improvements and pedestrian safety features on Liliha Street (from School Street toWyllie Street), and
- $500,000 to undertake an Oahu Pedestrian Master Plan to complement the Oahu Bike Plan, with the first phase focusing on urban Honolulu neighborhoods.
- Reporting requirements for all Complete Streets improvements undertaken with FY 16 and FY 17 funds to improve coordination between bike lanes/other improvements installed during repaving projects and pedestrian safety improvements sought by older communities.
We look forward to working with Neighborhood Board #14, Department of Transportation Services and Department of Design and Construction and other community stakeholders to discuss curb extensions (to shorten crossing distances), rectangular rapid flash beacons (RRFB) to improve pedestrian-motorists visibility, and installing sidewalks to keep pedestrians safe