Road corridor should be improved before development
In regard to a Dec. 4 West Hawaii Today headline, “Hualalai Development Questioned,” I would like to add in its Aug. 7, 2013, letter to the Leeward Planning Commission and council member Dru Kanuha, Pualani Estates Homeowner’s Association’s board representing more than 300 homes in the area, also voiced its opposition and concerns regarding this development. In particular is the need to improve the Hualalai Road corridor, traffic flow and address high-density land use.
For example, with an estimated average of two or more vehicles per single family home, adding 43 more lots could easily add 80 or more vehicles on the roadways. This is in addition to the traffic the 90 Phase III homes of Pualani Estates will have added. Furthermore, traffic concerns on Puapuaanui Street have yet to be fully addressed. Building a so-called “connector road” from the proposed new development via the resident-populated streets of Paulehia and Puapuaanui is a short-sighted traffic solution in routing traffic to Queen Kaahumanu Highway.
Voices must be heard and county officials should shape their decisions based on the needs of residents and not on the whims and domination of developers. There have been too many instances where developers seem to trump the will of the people. The county’s goal should be consistent with the vision of the Kona Community Development Plan, focusing on the needs of residents and users, providing sound infrastructure planning, and protecting the aesthetics of the West Hawaii landscape.
Likeke Bumanglag
Kailua-Kona
Loud vehicles must be muffled
In regard to Gary Hattenburg’s letter on motorcycle mufflers: Thank you for eloquently stating the situation.
I agree completely with Hattenburg’s synopsis but would suggest that it be taken one step further. The rental shops who are providing lawbreaking consumers with the means by which the law is broken should be held accountable for their actions in as much as they are providing vehicles that do not comply with the law, making their activity that of an accessory before the fact.
Does the local police department have a reason it doesn’t enforce this law?
Gene Robertson
Kailua-Kona