Today I was reminded why this battle against gates still matters. While jogging back from Kailua Beach, I saw three paramedics pushing a gurney down the Kailuana Beach Right of Way -- the only public access for a mile-long stretch of beach. The dirt path from Kalaheo Avenue is well over a hundred yards before you even reach the beach.

As soon as I saw the paramedics I knew there was a big problem. I had just come from the beach and didn't see anyone in trouble near the #89A Emergency Locater sign next to that access path. I did, however, notice a group of people further down by the area surfers call Castles, near the house where President Obama and his family stayed last Christmas. That was at least a quarter-mile from the public access.

So I told the paramedics about that and asked how they planned on pushing the gurney through the sand. I noted that there was a closer access on Kailuana Place, but it was gated -- the locked gate in the picture. All they knew was that a surfer was injured, and this was the closest public access to where the victim was. Apparently it was not a life-threatening situation... but what if it was?

The paramedics left the gurney on the path and strolled down the beach. One made a call and shortly after that another ambulance drove down Kailuana Place. I presume they were going to try to get someone to open the gate so they could transfer the accident victim to the second ambulance. All this took 10-15 minutes... if it had been a heart attack or drowning victim, those extra minutes could have meant the difference between life and death.

What's more, Kailuana Place is a public street. That's right -- our tax dollars pay for the upkeep of their road! But the gate is on a privately-owned piece of land. How nice of them to share it with their neighbors, eh?

Merry Christmas, indeed. If President Obama stays at the property down that end again this year, I hope someone will mention to him that the locked gates along Kailua Beach are a very real threat to the public's safety. Whether you have health insurance or not won't matter if emergency help can't get to you quickly!

Labels: beach emergency response, Kailua Beach, Kailuana Place gate, Kalaheo Avenue, locked gates, Obama in Kailua, public beach access

Posted by richfigel at 1:55 PM | Permalink | Comments | links to this post

It's been well over a year since I contacted our City Council representative to do something about the unsafe conditions on Kalaheo Avenue, since residents must now walk along long stretches of road to reach the closest public right of way. We were told that the area next to the street is the responsibility of the HOMEOWNER -- not the City or State.

Supposedly the City sent notices to those homeowners, informing them they were supposed to clear the pedestrian/biking paths of debris and dirt, or the City would do it and then send the property owners a bill for that service. But as you can see in the video I took with my new Flip camcorder ("shaky-cam") nothing has been done. There is now less than a foot of walking space in spots. Cars have to veer toward the middle of the road to avoid walkers and bikers.

This is an accident waiting to happen. One resident has already been "clipped" on his elbow by a car's mirror. Further down the same street, a woman on a bike got hit last year. Is the City waiting for someone to get killed before it fixes the problem?

Labels: Honolulu City Council, Kalaheo Avenue, public beach access, unsafe road conditions

Posted by richfigel at 1:11 PM | Permalink | Comments | links to this post

Back on Dec. 20 we posted a photo on this site showing how dangerous parts of Kalaheo Avenue are for people trying to get to the public beach accesses, since they can no longer use "private" rights of way right across the street from where they live. Those pictures were also sent to City Council Chair Barbara Marshall and the Kailua Neighborhood Board, with a request that the appropriate department be contacted to do something about the unsafe road shoulders.

We warned that it was an accident waiting to happen. On Feb. 9, a woman bicyclist was hit by a car at the south end of Kalaheo Avenue, where residents say the path is less than a foot wide -- just like in the photo we posted on Dec. 20 (taken near L'Orange Place at the north end). Fortunately, the woman survived, which is probably why it didn't make the news.

After we alerted Councilwoman Marshall to the accident and asked again if anyone was contacted about the narrow road shoulder situation, her assistant confirmed that they did get a response from the City Dept. of Planning and Permitting. According to the DPP, it is the responsibility of the HOMEOWNERS who live next to the "unimproved sidewalk" areas (meaning the bike/walking lane) to maintain road shoulders!

In other words, once again the City says it's not their job to make the road safe for residents who have to walk further and further just to find a public right of way to the beach. However, the DDP is supposedly going to notify those homeowners that they must do something about their property if it is encroaching into the walking path areas.

So rather than wait for someone to be killed by a speeding car, we're going to look into whether volunteers from BAH can try to clean up and fix some of the worst spots along Kalaheo Avenue on our own. But the City will probably tell us we need a permit to do that, I bet.

Labels: Kalaheo Avenue

Posted by richfigel at 10:16 AM | Permalink | Comments | links to this post

This stretch of road on N. Kalaheo Avenue between L'Orange Place and the public beach access two blocks away is an accident waiting to happen. The bordering properties are encroaching on the narrow walking path that has to be shared by both bicyclists and pedestrians since there's no room on the other side of the road to walk.

We've repeatedly pointed this out to City Council Chair Barbara Marshall and Mayor "No Can" Mufi, and so far, nothing has been done to address it. After the Tuesday night (Dec. 18) meeting of the Kailua Neighborhood Board Parks Committee, we sent more photos to Barbara Marshall. The KNB Parks Committee said it would also forward the pictures to the appropriate parties.

Let's see how long it takes before we get a response -- or will it take a tragic accident to get attention?

Labels: Kalaheo Avenue

Posted by richfigel at 9:19 AM | Permalink | Comments | links to this post

The biggest laugh of the night at the last Kailua Neighborhood Board meeting was in response to a comment made by the Mayor's assistant, Ann Chung, about our group's suggestions to make Kalaheo Avenue safer for pedestrians. As you can see in the photo above, the stretch of road between L'Orange Place and the public beach access is especially dangerous for parents with children in tow since the dirt and debris takes up half the shoulder. Bicyclists use that same narrow lane too. It's an accident waiting to happen. But so far, our concerns have been ignored by officials.

We also requested that crosswalks be painted at every public right of way location. Sounds sensible, doesn't it? However, our "No Can" Mayor had his assistant tell us that maybe crosswalks aren't such a good idea, because they give pedestrians "a false sense of security." Even members of the Neighborhood Board laughed at that excuse to justify doing nothing. Yet later on, another government official suggested the answer to making Kapaa Quarry Road safer was to paint some lines on the road and put up signs -- probably because that's a lot cheaper than fixing the road itself.

And you can be sure our elected officials will use the money excuse to do nothing on beach access unless we make it clear it will cost them votes come election time. If you haven't already written our government representatives, please use the email contacts on the right side of this page under "Get Involved" and tell them you want to know where they stand on the issue!

Labels: Beach Access, Kailua, Kalaheo Avenue

Posted by richfigel at 12:39 PM | Permalink | Comments | links to this post