Lanikai Neighborhood Gridlock: Too Much Of A Bad Thing?

Lanikai Association will tackle its traffic woes once again during a forum at 6 tonight (Jan. 22) at the park pavilion.

City and state officials and lawmakers will attend the latest traffic forum, which also will brief LA members on important points that are incorporated into a traffic survey they will be asked to fill out.

A meeting last September with city Department of Transportation Services staff covered several suggested remedies for the glut of cars, which is especially critical on weekends and holidays in the popular beachside community. Some residents report having to wait at least half an hour just to back out of their own driveways into the narrow, crowded side streets.

Tonight’s meeting and the survey are important, said LA president Mike Groza, if residents are to move forward on any specific solutions. “A variety of strategies are being pursued,” he stated in a letter to members this month.

“We are now at the point where we, again, need your input so we can document community support for implementation of these strategies … Speaking to officials with one voice that represents a 100-percent membership is a powerful tool.”

Suggestions being explored include guest passes and parking permits, enforced parking restrictions (and increased fines), more signage, and a total ban on parking along the entire loop.

The city DTS has responded by installing signs along the bike route (re: $500 parking fines), directional signs at Kalapawai Triangle, a license-plate survey and a round-about design.

“Beyond being an inconvenience, (the gridlock) is now a major safety issue,” stated LA traffic committee chairwoman and past president Ann Dewey in the Summer 2013 Lanikite.

“When there is a fire, medical emergency, ocean or Pillbox rescue,” she noted, “ambulances and fire trucks require more and more time navigating the increasing amount of traffic to do their job of saving lives and property.

“As the volume of traffic continues to increase, we believe there will be serious consequences.”