2007 Surge in Traffic Accident Deaths Involving Pedestrians in Hawaii

Hawaii is one of the most dangerous places in the nation to be a pedestrian according to AARP. There is no snow, ice or sleet, so why is it so dangerous to walk in? Aggressive drivers perhaps? It has been suggested that Hawaiian drivers were generally "too courteous" in merging traffic, a foreign concept that may be impossible to imagine for a NYC driver - yet pedestrians are not being afforded that same respect in a city ensnared in gridlock.

According to the chart found at starbulletin.com, Honolulu pedestrian casualties that occurred while inside a crosswalk were at the highest in 2005 at 14 deaths. In 2006, five pedestrian deaths occurred while inside a crosswalk. In 2007, January isn't over and already there has been far too numerous traffic-related deaths in total, (not just inside crosswalks.)

Effective 2007, the City and County of Honolulu amended it's constitution which now asserts that it shall be one of the priorities of the Department of Transportation Services to make Honolulu a pedestrian and bicycle-friendly city. This mandate of the people is hopeful in improving livability in the seventh largest city in America.

According to AARP's report, Hawaii has the 11th highest pedestrian fatality rate in the country and is number one in pedestrian fatalities of those over 64. In 2006 AARP conducted a study and named seven locales considered the most dangerous, all on the island of Oahu except for Haili St. & Kamehameha Ave. in Hilo on the Big Island. Honolulu's most dangerous areas are Kahuhipa St. & Kawa St., Kamehemeha Hwy. at Senior Residence in Kaneohe, Farrington Hwy at Waianae High School, Kuulei Rd. & Kailua Rd., Keeaumoku St. & Kapiolani Blvd. and in Waikiki, Ala Moana Blvd. & Hobron Lane. The report ends with recommendations such as improving street and sidewalk design.

Despite Charter 8 being enacted and AARP's report, there seems to be little focus to correct inadequate crosswalks but rather to increase punitive citations instead. In December 2006, I called the Department of Transportation, whose representative replied to me that "The disabled are going to have a hard time anywhere they go." when I filed a complaint about a major transfer point bus stop in front of a large food market that utterly lacked ramped street corners.

According to this website, a recent estimate of Honolulu's cost for re-ramping curbs is roughly $120 million and that it would only have cost a fraction of this if DOT had only installed the ramps to code initially.

The lawsuit that Honolulu lost to the ADA is probably why the street corners in the Capital District of Honolulu were re-ramped to code yet not having unimproved crosswalks among numerous major bus transfer points such as along Dillingham are not being prioritized appears at first, to be poor planning until factor in that the elevated rail will presumably be erected along Dillingham, a transit route that hasn't yet been finalized nor will construction even begin until 2012.