Given the complete lack of effort on the part of traffic engineers, I’m really starting to think this may be the only solution to making roads safe for walking and biking:
Mary Moriarty Jones took over ownership of part of Leahi Avenue in October from its former owner, Lunalilo Trust. The trust, wanting to avoid future liability, signed over the road to Jones in a $10 quitclaim deed.
Jones told Civil Beat in November she was compelled to take over Leahi Avenue after trying for more than four years to get the city to assume responsibility for the road to make it safer for pedestrians — especially for parents of young children attending nearby Waikiki Elementary School.
“All I wanted to do was walk my children to school without fearing for their lives,” she said then.
Now Jones is facing major pushback from angry neighbors who don’t like the tactics she is using to clear parked cars and make the road safer for pedestrians. Jones says her plan is to eventually charge for parking on the street with all proceeds going into safety improvements, including a sidewalk on one side of the street. She says 12 to 14 parking places will be removed in the plan.
Jones lowered the speed limit from 25 to 15 mph
