honoluluadvertiser.com

Sponsored by:

Comment, blog & share photos

Log in | Become a member
The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Saturday, November 19, 2005

Letters to the Editor

PEDESTRIAN PERIL

LET'S HAVE MANDATORY ROAD TESTS REINSTATED

Thanks goes to Mike Leidemann for his Nov. 13 article entitled "Pedestrians tread perilously." How many more people have to die in order for the state to realize that the pedestrian law is not working?

As I crossed Kapahulu and Kana'ina Avenue in a marked crosswalk last week, two vehicles refused to stop for me as I approached their side of the road. It was a close call, but extreme vigilance and a sense of paranoia keep me from becoming a statistic.

I am frustrated at the lack of enforcement and drivers' attitudes toward pedestrians. It's time for lawmakers to reinstate mandatory road tests for license renewals to prevent people from getting licensed if they don't know the rules of the road.

David Cabatu
Honolulu

WATERFRONT

HCDA IS DOING A GREAT JOB IN KAKA'AKO

As someone who daily walks three to five miles around downtown, I can confirm that Hawai'i Community Development Authority is a savior, not a scourge. Rep. Neil Abercrombie needs to walk with me to see what I mean. Here are two examples:

  • Queen Street runs through Kaka'ako. The renovated section is wonderful. The section on both sides of Ward is the pits. Try walking this section after a rain. The business owners will benefit, the community will benefit, and the only way to get the street improved is via the HCDA. If the current landowners had their way, that place would be a mud hole forever.

  • The voices Rep. Abercrombie is listening to claim that the "mana" will be changed with the A&B proposal recommended by the HCDA. Well, if their "mana" comes from old garbage truck lots and empty derelict buildings, then that is "mana" I can do without. There is nothing that affects the waterfront access and beauty in the A&B plan. Remember, those hills along the water are trash heaps with landscaping. The parks and waterfront give the area the "mana," and having more parking and better access will let more people enjoy the waterfront.

    Well-designed buildings, wide sidewalks, landscaping, good lighting and easy access will create a neighborhood for business, living and recreational use to benefit the entire city.

    If we now try to reinvent the process by eliminating the HCDA, we will only delay completion of a well-thought-out plan.

    Paul E. Smith
    Pacific Heights

    SCORES, STATS

    STADIUM SCOREBOARD VOID OF USEFUL INFO

    Why does the scoreboard at Aloha Stadium run an advertisement for Hawai'i Pacific University during the University of Hawai'i football games?

    It's too bad the Stadium Authority in its zeal to generate advertising would rather accept advertising from HPU than show Top 10 and WAC football scores and game statistics on the scoreboard.

    There was an announcement for this week's women's volleyball matches, but no mention of the score of the match with San Jose State played that day.

    Football fans want information, not advertisements on the scoreboard.

    Larry Langley
    Makiki

    KAKA'AKO

    COMMON SENSE SAYS FORGET THE DEVELOPMENT

    Dennis Hwang, a specialist in coastal zone management, environmental and land-use laws, wrote in the Nov. 6 Focus section, "Within less than a year, a major tsunami and two devastating hurricanes have redefined the extent of damage possible from coastal disasters." The headline: "The worst can happen here too."

    Shouldn't common sense, then, dictate that the development proposed for the Kaka'ako shoreline is completely inappropriate?

    This is about as senseless an idea as those ideas of a ferry disgorging 800-plus tourists, plus autos, at one time on small islands ill-equipped to handle the volume, and windmills on a Leeward Coast ridgeline.

    I've been a big fan of A&B as a good citizen in Hawai'i, but, please, let's move the project inland and preserve our coastal beauty for the sake of safety, common-sense development and for our visitors and local residents to enjoy.

    And I'm not opposed to interisland ferries, either; actually one is long overdue, but not 800-plus folks at one time. And windmills are fine, too, at Kahuku, but not on the Leeward Coast.

    Joanne Fong
    'Ewa Beach

    CENTENNIAL

    MAYOR HAD NO ROLE IN CHOOSING THE 'TOP 100'

    Libby Tomar is disappointed that former Mayor Jeremy Harris failed to make the list of 100 people who made a difference in Honolulu during its first 100 years. It should be noted that Mayor Mufi Hannemann had no role in the selection of any of those chosen.

    Select members of the Ho-nolulu Centennial Commission, members of Honolulu Magazine and community leaders who made up the panel knew that it would be a difficult task to identify 100 citizens over the last 100 years who had contributed to making Honolulu the vibrant city it is today. We realize many worthy names are not included because it was difficult to narrow the field to a mere 100. It's akin to coming up with a guest list for a big wedding.

    Let's not diminish the honor of those deservingly selected. Do call or e-mail us with your suggestions of who you would have added, as Bob Krauss did. Contact us at either www.honolulumagazine.com, pr@honolulu pride.com or 275-3030.

    Thank you to those who have expressed interest in the centennial; there are many other activities to get involved in through July 2006. Here's a cheer to celebrate Honolulu's proud history and to those who will be the future 100 notables in the city's next 100 years.

    Ron Wright and Linda Wong
    Honolulu Centennial Commission co-chairs