ATI The Alliance for Traffic Improvement

Seeking cost effective ways to reduce traffic congestion on Oahu

WAIKIKI: UNSAFE AT ANY SPEED

The bus tour was very interesting because the people we took could see the physical effects of IOS driving conditions.

Throughout the city (except in Waikiki and South King St. most predominantly), trees and landscaping are on the other (far) side of the sidewalk, not next to the street.  The city  has placed trees where normally there are only street lights.  The bus drivers are essentially dodging trees because of damage to their buses - costly and visible damage that require repairs and down time.  Frequently, the bus drivers avoid the curb lane where large tree branches scrape and dent the bus roofs, like on Kuhio Av, especially on the far end, trees planted on median butting the curb.  Thus, trees tend to eliminate one more traffic lane.

Robert's bus driver took some side streets in Waikiki to show how the drivers cannot turn onto Kuhio easily; even so, it was always a squeeze. Making a right turn is much more difficult than making a left turn because when they are making the left turn, they have at least 1or 2 lanes to cross, whereas in making the right turn, they don't have that swath.  And if there is traffic coming in the opposite direction, the bus has to wait until the bus can cross in front of on-coming traffic.