Hawaii State Legislature

Town hall meeting addresses water main break, along Kalanianaole Hwy

Originally published by KITV; click here to read the article on kitv.com.

Posted: Feb 06, 2017 10:53 PM HST
Updated: Feb 07, 2017 12:38 AM HST

By Melody Gonzales

A state senator held a town hall meeting, Monday night, to address the traffic tie up that left drivers stuck for hours, as they headed toward Hawaii Kai on the H-1.

The traffic tangle that lasted for several days, as a result of the 24-inch water main that broke, along Kalanianaole Highway, on January 21st.

"It was a traffic nightmare," neighborhood board chair, Heather Lum said.

A nightmare-- Heather Lum doesn't want to repeat.

"As residents we hear water main break and we think, 'Okay' it's going to take a couple hours, it'll be slightly an inconvenience,' and then when it takes day, after day, after day.. it's like, 'Hey, who's not doing their job," Lum added.

State Senator Stanley Chang met with residents, to find out what worked and what didn't.

"Anytime that one of these situations happen we need to ensure that traffic is flowing as smoothly as possible -- that common sense measures like re-timing lights, police directing traffic other things are going to be implemented, " Sen. Chang said. "We need more contraflows. We need more detour routes. We need more notification to people on the highway.

Hawaii's State Department of Transportation was a no show at Monday night's meeting.

But other jurisdictions including the Honolulu Police Department, Board of Water Supply (BWS), and the city -- did answer questions about contraflow lanes, signage, and stand-still traffic.

"I get that there is someone specific for safety, but there is no one specific to make sure the traffic runs smoothly?" Sen Chang asked during the meeting.

The takeaway-- Sen. Chang points out that there should be more of a clear chain of command.

While BWS adds more communication early on was needed.

"Lesson learned, and here is what east Honolulu has to say.. you guys could do better, we all could do better... in terms of shutting down traffic," State Representative Gene Ward said.

While there was mention of the Joint Traffic Management Center-- which is expected to be complete by the end of this year-- Sen. Chang says a more pro-active approach is still needed.

"It's always good whenever anything happens to evaluate, what did we do well, what can we do better," Lum said.

2017 Opening Day Message

Aloha friends and neighbors,

As we begin the 29th session of the state legislature, I am deeply humbled by the opportunity to serve the people of East Honolulu in the Hawai‘i State Senate.

This year, for the first time in our state's history, and for the first time in the nation in more than 30 years, we serve in a legislative body with only one party. There are no Republicans in the State Senate. That means that as Democrats, we have a special responsibility to the people of Hawai‘i. We cannot just represent the people we agree with or who think the way we do. We have to represent everyone--by making a special effort to reach out to our constituents, by engaging as many different viewpoints as possible in the legislative process. This is my first pledge as a Senator, and we have already begun, by mailing a constituent survey to the whole district to solicit feedback on policy and district-related matters.

With respect to policy, there should be no higher matter on the agenda than homelessness. Knocking on 16,000 doors throughout East Honolulu, there were not a dozen issues, or five issues, or even three issues. Overwhelmingly, the top issue for our district is homelessness. Even though East Honolulu may not be one of the traditional hotspots for homelessness, it affects our entire state and every member of our community. We will fight for tangible results in dealing with this issue. That includes an expansion of Housing First and other efforts to house people who need it and mobile clinics to diagnose and treat the homeless with medical issues. As vice chair of the Human Services Committee, this will be my top priority for the session.

I got into public service because I wanted to make a difference in the lives of the average individual like myself and my parents. My parents came to America from China. My father became a professor at the University of Hawai‘i, and my mother became a teacher at Kalani High School. They were able to put my brother and me through school and give us opportunities that would have been impossible in China. Today, those opportunities are becoming more and more difficult for today's young people. We must fight to ensure that Hawai‘i remains a great place for every generation--20, 50, 100 years from now. I encourage all of my fellow lawmakers to listen to their young constituents.

I look forward to working with people across the spectrum to make our community a better place for us and for future generations. I believe that together we can accomplish great things.

Very truly yours,

Senator Stanley Chang