Posted on 06/24/2002 7:24:55 PM PDT by Vidalia
Too many humps in the roads, says Goode Other ‘traffic-calming’ measures advocated in the planning process to stem speeding By BRIAN PERRY
Staff Writer
WAILUKU — Motorists speeding through otherwise quiet, residential streets continues to be a problem, and the solution, so far, has been for the county to install speed humps.
But, as Public Works Director David Goode explained to the Maui County Council’s Public Works and Water Committee Wednesday, speed humps are costly for the county to install and other “traffic-calming” measures could be as effective if not more so.
Much of the problem, Goode said, is that current county codes don’t require developers to incorporate traffic-calming features into their designs of interior subdivision roadways.
Instead, developers design their roads in accordance with the Maui County Code, which aims for roads, even neighborhood streets, to be planned with the ease of moving traffic foremost in mind. Goode said he was reviewing such a plan and foresaw “future speed hump requests.”
The installation of speed humps, which began in 1997, costs about $2,000 per hump, but the county’s practice is to resurface streets that receive the traffic-calming features, and that pushes the cost to around $6,000 per hump, he said.
More than 200 neighborhood streets have speed humps on Maui.
Goode proposed reversing the hierarchy of neighborhood street designs, amending the County Code to put pedestrians and bicycles at the top of design priorities.
For new subdivisions, that would mean planning narrower roads and designing features such as raised crosswalks and other roadway devices aimed at slowing traffic. Speed humps would be included as a “traffic calming” feature, but Goode said he’d like to discourage them.
One feature often discussed by council members is a roundabout, which channels traffic in a clockwise direction around a central, usually landscaped, area. Vehicles go around the roundabout until drivers reach the road they intend to use. A roundabout in a residential subdivision in Salt Lake, Oahu, has been successful, according to Goode.
Because subdivision architects would have more flexibility in how to design roadways, they could reduce the amount of land set aside for roads, and the savings could be passed on to home buyers, he said.
Current provisions in the county code make flexibility in designing neighborhood roadways very difficult, Goode said. For a variance request to be approved, for example, an applicant would need to show a hardship such as terrain that is extremely difficult to develop.
Committee members were generally enthusiastic about allowing the more innovative neighborhood street designs in the county code, but they were cautious about moving forward without answers to some questions.
Councilors wanted to get feedback from police, firefighters and ambulance operators to see how traffic-calming devices would affect neighborhood access for emergency services. And, they wanted to see whether other communities that tried such features were liable for accidents that may have been connected with the features aimed at slowing traffic.
Council Member Alan Arakawa said he liked and supported the idea, but he urged caution against putting a requirement on subdivisions that would increase the cost of housing, especially affordable housing.
Council Member Riki Hokama expressed some skepticism about whether “traffic-calming” features really work and cautioned against exposing the county to lawsuits.
“You’d be surprised how fast people go on narrow streets,” he said. “Bad drivers are bad drivers.”
Hokama suggested experimenting with a traffic-slowing measure as a pilot project.
Committee Chairman Mike Molina deferred the matter to get more information. He said he’d probably reschedule the issue for a meeting sometime next month.
Council Members Dain Kane and Robert Carroll said they supported Goode’s proposal and were prepared to recommend passage on first reading.
“This is something we’ve been hoping to implement for many years,” Carroll said, saying the positive effects of traffic-calming measures, including their potential to save lives, outweigh their potential problems.
“I think this is a very good beginning,” he said. “It’s not a giant step, but it’s a step.”
...that the humps, ...umphaaaahaha, in the middle of the roads have always beeen,
....umpHAHAHAHAHA!!!, a GOOD THAING....
Who could resist?
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