Speed limit on Kuakini Highway could drop

Traffic on busy Kuakini Highway will soon be slowed down a notch, based on bills making their way through the Hawaii County Council.

Bills 267 and 268 will lower the speed limit from 45 mph to 35 mph on the portion of Kuakini Highway from Walua Road to the proposed Alii Highway extension.

“This was always a problem and this is a really good thing,” said Kona Councilman Dru Kanuha.

In addition, said Traffic Division Chief Ron Thiel, a planned senior assisted living facility at the southern end of Kuakini will add to traffic congestion in the area.

Kanuha said Friday he wants to see traffic slowed because there’s often a problem with drivers coming down Kuakini from the 45 mph zone to the 35 mph zone not slowing down soon enough as they approach Hillcrest subdivision.

“We’re addressing safety concerns from residents about speeding,” Kanuha said. “It’s a very congested area.”

One of those residents is Lehua Amone. She said it’s difficult getting out of her subdivision, especially as drivers come down the hill transitioning from the faster zone to the slower one.

“The cars seem far away, but when you pull out, they’re suddenly right behind you,” Amone said Friday. “Cars are just speeding. You can’t pull out.”

She said school buses coming out of the subdivision and the many elderly living there especially have difficulties.

Kanuha met with Thiel in hopes of also adding a flashing traffic signal to alert drivers. He said one is in the works for the crosswalk near the Youth With a Mission campus.

The bills will be considered on first reading at the County Council meeting Wednesday at the West Hawaii Civic Center.

The public can comment at the meeting at that site or via videoconference from Hilo council chambers, the Old Kohala Courthouse, Pahoa neighborhood facility and Naalehu state office building.