Diversity takes on historic meaning

There are exceptions, but many historic preservation advocates are worried that the Hawaii Register of Historic Places doesn’t reflect the state’s cultural diversity.

The state’s register is dominated by Western-style homes, many of them being listed as a means to qualify for a property tax break.

Kiersten Faulkner, executive director of the Historic Hawai‘i Foundation, remains hopeful this will change. She cited one development: The State Historic Preservation Division expects to seek public comment next month on a draft preservation plan tackling this and other issues.

One idea: allowing an owner to preserve it in exchange for development rights on another property. The issue is something to watch in the months ahead.

Restriping won’t leave much room

It’s a good thing high gas prices have led to the decline of the SUV and the rise of tiny fuel-efficient or electric cars. That’s because nothing much larger than that will be able to traverse the H-1, at least not easily.

This week marks the start of a $200,000 project to restripe parts of the freeway to add a fourth lane in each direction along its most congested corridor, roughly the Punahou-to-Pali stretch.

One of the bedeviling aspects of the drive is the onramp/offramp overlap at Lunalilo Street, which confounds a lot of Hawaii drivers. So rather than attempt to boost the driving skills, the answer is to give traffic more lanes to move.

The skinnier lanes and narrower shoulders, however, won’t allow for much weaving. And let’s all pray nobody gets a flat tire.