The Kealakekua Krawl
Will the Hokulia Bypass do any good?

by Alan D. McNarie

Gridlock and Hokulia-these two issues have defined Kona for the past decade. The former, an ongoing problem brought about, many say, by a lack of planning, inadequate infrastructure and explosive population growth. The latter, a luxury residential development and golf course above Kealakekua Bay, was the subject of broadbased community opposition prompting numerous lawsuits and other legal actions. The development has been allowed to proceed, after a fashion, but only after the unprecedented intervention of both the Hawai'i state courts and the Legislature. The two issues remain intertwined, and many doubt the County's temporary solution will do much good at all.

On Friday, January 11, the County Planning Commission voted to recommend the partial opening of the long-delayed Mamalahoa Bypass. Also called the Hokulia Bypass, for the subdivision whose parent company is paying for it, the bypass is touted as a partial solution to the traffic jams that regularly plague Mamalahoa Highway between Kailua Kona and Kealakekua-a situation one Planning Department document calls the "Kainaliu Krawl." Critics say that bypass will simply move the traffic jam further toward Ka'u, since cars from the bypass would still merge onto the narrow Mamalahoa Highway before Captain Cook. And the Planning Commission's temporary fix is even more controversial, since it would route traffic from the completed portion of the bypass up a steep residential street to the highway at Kealakekua.

According to a county "fact sheet" on the proposal, the first three miles of the bypass would be opened on a "trial basis" this summer to southbound traffic on weekdays during the afternoon rush hour (3:30 to 6:30 p.m.).

The proposal now goes to the County Council, but, as of this writing, is not yet on the agenda.

Haleki'i St. temp fix

The total bypass, including the planned southern section, would run about 5.4 miles from the end of Ali'i Drive in Keauhou to Napo'opo'o Junction on Mamalahoa Highway. But the completion of the bypass has been delayed by the refusal of the Joan Coupe family trust to sell a section of land for a 1,000-foot right-of-way for the planned highway. The Coupes are currently appealing county condemnation efforts.

The original zoning permit specifically prohibited 1250 Oceanside Partners, Hokulia's developers, from using Haleki'i as an access when building the bypass (which they agreed to construct as one condition for building the luxury subdivision). As recently as last November, plans called for the bottom of Haleki'i Street to be gated off from the bypass until the latter was completed. But a county-financed traffic study apparently convinced County Planning Director Chris Yuen that opening the northern section of the road and using Haleki'i St. as a connector would help mitigate the Krawl, which the study said added about 30-45 minutes to drivers' travel time (and 2-3 hours if there is a traffic accident). The study found that every day 20,000 cars drive that section of Mamalahoa Highway-which is one lane in each direction.

The Planning Commission recommends the County Council amend two ordinances to allow use of Haleki'i Street to connect the bypass with Mamalahoa Highway. Haleki'i passes through light commercial and residential areas in Kealakekua; about 40 homes have driveways connecting directly to the street, and two side streets feed cars from adjacent neighborhoods. That 1/2 mile stretch in question is a residential street with steep grades of up to 18 per cent; one resident speculates whether some older or underpowered cars would even make it up the slope from the bypass.

Yuen wants the Kailua-Kona-side section open to through traffic, as long as crosswalks are installed and other traffic safety measures mandated. These included a "smart sign" to tell residents their speed (and let police know when speeding was most likely to occur); multiple "speed humps" and "mini traffic circles." Two of the speed humps are located on relatively level ground, but five are on grades of up to 18 per cent-bad news for underpowered vehicles coming up the slope.

Logically, opening the northern portion of the bypass would divert traffic above Kealakekua, making for a faster ride into Kailua-Kona, especially for morning commuters. The traffic study predicts that about one-third of the current traffic would use the bypass. But the county's "Mamalahoa Bypass Fact Sheet" estimates that only "about 20 per cent of the current traffic flowing through Kainaliu town" would use the bypass during "the first several months" and that many will "revert back to using Mamalahoa Highway through Kainaliu and the traffic on Haleki'i Street will level off."

Public doubts

The traffic study did not convince many local residents. At the January 11 Planning Commission hearing, about 130 residents attended and about 20 testified-most against the plan. There was also written testimony, including letters from the Keauhou Area 5 Homeowner's Association and the Kona Country Club and Keauhou Resort Association, which were concerned about increased traffic in their neighborhoods at the northern end of the bypass.

Among other objections, they predicted a massive traffic snarl at South Kona's only traffic light, at the intersection of Haleki'i and Mamalahoa Streets.

"All the traffic will still halt at the same point," noted Kona Scenic resident Arin Tanimoto. "[The] only difference is that the intersection will be fed by three sources instead of two, forming a three-way bottleneck.

"This intersection is already choked with cars. Opening up Haleki'i will just create more hazard due to the steep slope and children in the neighborhood... no matter how many bypass roads you build, if all the traffic meets at the same stop-point, the problem will not change."

Tanimoto also noted the hazards caused by frustrated drivers shortcutting through the parking lot of UH-West Hawai'i's building hear the Haleki'i-Mamalahoa intersection, the loss of parking for neighborhood businesses near the intersection, and the lowering of property values in the neighborhood.

"Our home was built in this subdivision in 1979 with the trust that the subdivision would not be transformed into a secondary highway," he concluded. "...It wouldn't be fair or right for the county to do this."

And of course, Kealakekua residents objected to the increased traffic through their neighborhood. In anticipation of that increased flow, the County plans to install more traffic lights on Ali'i Drive and Hualalai Road, adjust timing of other traffic lights, and install smart signs at "key locations between Kailua and Keauhou."

"Proponents may argue that a small sacrifice is needed to benefit the whole," one resident wrote. "But those who are saying this are not the ones who will wake up each morning and see a line of cars backed up outside their windows."

Despite the public testimony, the commission voted to recommend opening the northern portion of the bypass via Haleki'i. North Kohala commissioner Bill Graham cast the only no vote, saying the plan would "create as many problems as you're solving."

The plan also drew online criticism from Aaron Stene, a Kona blogger and strong supporter of completing the bypass; he even posed in a lounge chair on the empty highway for a Honolulu Advertiser story about the impasse. But he maintains that opening the north end of the bypass will "just move the traffic congestion from Honalo/Kainaliu to Kealakekua."

More development?

The traffic study did not adequately address the impact of increased development fostered by the bypass itself. Opening the bypass will certainly make Hokulia itself more attractive to potential homeowners, who would essentially have an express route to Keauhou Shopping Center. As that development grows, another potential bottleneck could develop at Hokulia's gate at the base of Haleki'i.

The bypass also opens up several other large tracts to potential development. Most of the land along the new bypass is owned by various land trusts and development companies: Kalakaa Properties, Yamagata Development Company, Jack B. Greenwell Trust, Wall Ranch Inc., the William J. Paris, Sr. Trust, Kona Trust and Kamehameha Schools. Some of that land, including a tract owned by Ackerman Ranch, has been leased by 1250 Oceanside Partners. Each of those landowners will get a "stub out"-the concrete base for a potential future street built along the bypass. And if the bypass does actually decrease the travel time to Kailua-Kona and Keauhou, it could increase development pressure on South Kona- until the growing number of commuters brings more gridlock.

More of same

Controversy is nothing new for this road project. The bypass was first conceived in the 1960s, but work on it didn't begin in earnest until three decades later, when Oceanside 1250 cut a deal with the County during the Yamashiro administration in which it agreed to construct the bypass, among other concessions, in exchange for the county's approval of the rezoning for the 1,550-acre luxury Hokulia gated golf course subdivision. (The currently available 1- to 1.4-acre lots are on the market for $1.5 to $3.5 million each, says John De Fries, Oceanside's CEO).

According to the original agreement, the bypass was to be completed before any homes were occupied in Hokulia. That way, construction vehicles could use the road when the subdivision was built and Hokulia homeowners wouldn't be part of the Kainaliu Krawl. Instead, the bypass remained unfinished while earthmovers trundled up Mamalahoa Highway and down Haleki'i to build the golf course and homes. Meanwhile, some native Hawaiians complained that the massive highway fill at the northern end of the project desecrated the Kuamo'o battleground, the lava field where rebellious nobles who still supported the ancient kapu system made their last stand.

The project was further delayed when Hawaiians and environmentalists sued Hokulia on a number of grounds, including the destruction of a section of the Ala Kahakai Trail, the desecration of Hawaiian burials and the illegal building of a non-agricultural subdivision on agricultural lands. Work on the road ground to a halt for long periods while the lawsuit was in progress. Judge Ronald Ibarra upheld the plaintiffs, but later vacated his own order when an out-of-court settlement was reached during the appeals process.

The county is planning other measures to address the South Kona traffic crisis. Also in the works: open more public street public parking lots in the Kainaliu area, restrict on-street parking during peak hours; build "turnarounds" at both ends of Kainaliu to cut down on random U-turns, and build new left-turn lanes. A new streetlight near the Central Kona Union Church in Kealakekua could help to "pulse" traffic, creating gaps so that motorists on side streets could pull onto the highway more safely. (Tourists and new residents seem to ignore Hawai'i Island's long-standing custom of traffic aloha: in heavy traffic, stop and let the poor buggah pull out of the side street and go in front of you).

But all of those improvements, like the bypass, are simply treating the symptoms. As long as new subdivisions continue to open and public transportation remains inadequate, the Krawl, whether at Kainaliu or at Kealakekua, is likely to continue.

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