STAND. COM. REP. NO.  403-12

 

Honolulu, Hawaii

                , 2012

 

RE:   H.B. No. 2684

      H.D. 1

 

 

 

 

Honorable Calvin K.Y. Say

Speaker, House of Representatives

Twenty-Sixth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2012

State of Hawaii

 

Sir:

 

     Your Committee on Transportation, to which was referred H.B. No. 2684 entitled:

 

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO THE ZIPPER LANE,"

 

begs leave to report as follows:

 

     The purpose of this measure is to work towards alleviating traffic congestion by requiring the Department of Transportation to conduct a study on the feasibility of extending the zipper lane westward from Waipahu toward Kapolei, west of the Kunia on-ramp on the island of Oahu.

 

     The measure also appropriates funds to the Department of Transportation to conduct the study.

 

     Several concerned individuals testified in support of this measure.  The Department of Transportation testified in support of the intent of this measure.

 

     Motor vehicle transportation has been and continues to be both a critical necessity for, and the bane of, Hawaii's drivers.  Increased time spent on the road in travel decreases time spent with family or at work, work efficiency, and quality of life.  As the population grows, especially on the west side of Oahu, the need for travel lanes will increase.


     High occupancy vehicle lanes, such as zipper lanes on Oahu, provide an incentive to carpool, effectively reducing the number of cars on the road.  However, your Committee finds that zipper lanes providing access to west Oahu could be more effective in reducing traffic if it extended westward from Waipahu toward Kapolei, west of the Kunia on-ramp.

 

     Your Committee has amended this measure by extending by one year, the date by which the Department of Transportation is required to submit a report of its findings and recommendations of the feasibility study to the Legislature to allow the Department adequate time to hire a consultant and complete the study.

 

     Technical, nonsubstantive amendments were also made for clarity, consistency, and style.

 

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Transportation that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 2684, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 2684, H.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Finance.

 

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Transportation,

 

 

 

 

____________________________

JOSEPH M. SOUKI, Chair