Hawaiʻi County councilmembers will have another opportunity to advance plans to alleviate traffic congestion in the rapidly growing district of Puna on Hawaiʻi Island.
Back in January, councilmembers voted 6-to-2 against a measure that would have accepted $1 million in state funding to conduct a study of alternate routes between Puna and Hilo.
Critics of the measure argued the study narrowly focused on routes makai of the highway, while Hawaiian homesteaders in Panaʻewa and Keaukaha raised concerns about increased traffic.
A new proposal by Puna councilmember Ashley Kierkiewicz aims to alleviate these concerns and salvage the $1 million already appropriated by the state.
"I don’t want to give up on this," Kierkiewicz said. "At the end of the day, we need a study. But we also need to realize that there are factors that come into play that we have to be very cognizant of so that when we are thinking about these alternate routes which are so critical and necessary, that we’re putting them in places that make the most sense."
"Cause DHHL and homestead beneficiaries have said do not even consider connecting to our communities. We carry the burden of so many of the essential services in East Hawaiʻi, we cannot carry anymore. They’re not saying no alternative route for Puna, they just don’t want to be the end point for all that extra traffic," she continued.
Hawaiian homestead leader Maile Luʻuwai said she supports the study, but she wants assurance that Hawaiian Home Lands will be excluded from consideration.
Kierkiewicz plans to introduce Bill 131 at the Finance Committee hearing on Tuesday beginning at 2 p.m.
