Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 21, Number 6, 1 June 2004 — Waiʻanae Coast: dead end or crossroad? [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Waiʻanae Coast: dead end or crossroad?

Aloha mai kākou. I have chosen to touch on the subject of "traffic alternatives." In particular, I would like to share the mana'o of Mr. Hans Wedemeyer, a resident of Wai'anae, O'ahu, who addresses alternatives for the Wai'anae Coast and its more than 42,000 residents. Following is Mr. Hans Wedemeyer's editorial: "The discussion of an alternate inbound/outbound road for the Wai'anae coast has now been going on for many years and the only solution that has been arrived at recently is to re-route traffic through a residential area, causing noise, danger and pollution to those residents living and going to school along the narrow roads ma uka of Farrington Highway. These roads and neighborhoods were not built for rush hour commuter traffic. Instead of wasting taxpayers'

money on short term fixes and causing permanent damage to the Leeward neighborhoods, a realistic, workable and affordable solution needs to be adopted to bring the Leeward side out of a dead end status and re-unite it with the rest of the Island. "We propose the building of a five-mile stretch of road between Yokohama Beach and Mokulē'ia. The right of way around Ka'ena Point already belongs to the state; therefore there will be no land acquisition costs. It is further proposed that the road be dedicated to the memory of Israel Kamakawiwo'ole and named after him. "Let us take a lesson from the past and look at the actions of King David Kalākaua who set the precedent in 1886 when he granted a

franchise to Benjamin Dillingham to build a rail track around Kaena Point. He could see the social and eeonomie wisdom of connecting the two sides of the island all those years ago. "We firmly believe that a road encircling the whole Island would bring tremendous financial benefit to the entire Wai'anae coast and will be a morale boost to all of those in this community who want to participate in the business life of the Islands. Look at the amount of development that is planned and has already taken plaee in the Kapolei area, some of the benefit from all of the investment that is going into those areas should be guided Leeward as should the tourists that are being attracted to Kapolei and Kō 'Olina; but this entire coastline has been ignored and literally dumped on for years. The cost of

this road would be a drop in the bucket compared to the eeonomie opportunities it would provide. Maybe as a recompense for the devastation that the Military have visited on Mākua Valley over the years they would be interested in building the road for us. Isn't it about time to redress the halanee and put some clear thought into the infrastructure of this area? "All roads should lead somewhere." Hans Wedemeyer As always, my staff and I invite your comments on the above or any other concerns within our purview. My OHA access numbers are: phone 594-1854, fax 594-0210 and e-mail, dantec@oha.org. A hui hou, mālama pono. ■

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Dante Keala Carpenter Trustee, O'ahu