Plans are advancing to improve a major road in Kalaeloa.
An agreement would transfer a portion of Franklin D. Roosevelt Avenue from the state Department of Transportation to the Hawaii Community Development Authority, which would be tasked to improve the road based on the city’s standards. Roosevelt Avenue from West Perimeter Road to Enterprise Street would then be dedicated to the city upon completion of the improvements.
Planning could allow for a 20-foot median, two 12-foot center lanes and two 6-foot concrete sidewalks, as well as setting aside 14 feet on each side of Roosevelt Avenue for possible road widening, but widening is not anticipated yet, according to the agreement. West Perimeter Road, a dirt road that is generally not in use, from Roosevelt Avenue to Saratoga Avenue would also be transferred to HCDA, but that segment would likely be closed and no longer maintained as a roadway.
The City Council, HCDA and DOT have authorized entering into the agreement. HCDA Executive Director Anthony Ching said improving Roosevelt Avenue is a priority because it is sometimes used by drivers as an “escape” from regional congestion. He pointed out that DOT is a statewide agency with many priorities and that improvements to that corridor need to be done now.
“As the local redevelopment authority, we have a given responsibility to reflect the plan and our desire to move forward,” Ching said. “We’re in a position of leverage and authority with ownership to affect change.”
City officials have touted the measure as a way to address differing roadway standards and overdue improvements to make way for development in Kalaeloa.
According to the agreement, more than 20 miles of roadways in Kalaeloa do not meet state or city standards.
“The resulting and ongoing confusion and discrepancies in design standards has prolonged efforts to upgrade and develop infrastructure critical for enabling and encouraging new development in Kalaeloa,” the document says.
City Councilwoman Kymberly Pine, who introduced a resolution to authorize the city to enter into the agreement, said the measure could pave the way for upgrading other roads in Kalaeloa. She said that any costs to the city would be “minimal compared to what taxpayers will gain by improving this area.”
“The people of the district have been demanding that we improve the roads of Kalaeloa,” Pine said. “There is a reason Kalaeloa hasn’t been developed the way it should have been. This (agreement) finally delivers to the community their demands that we improve this area.”
HCDA members had expressed concerns in July with the design standards and the preservation of banyan trees along Roosevelt Avenue.
Ching said at a meeting Tuesday that the agreement now provides HCDA with more flexibility. He estimated the cost would be about $10 million to $15 million, but that amount would be shared among developers in the area and HCDA.
Board members also questioned whether there are adequate assurances that the city would eventually take over ownership once HCDA made the improvements and whether the authority would incur any liabilities.
Ching said that the community has expressed frustration “in not getting any improvements on the major east-west corridor which was … part of the solution to regional congestion and even transit to Honolulu.”
Linda Painter, co-owner of nearby Barbers Point Bowling Center, praised the move as a much-needed upgrade in the Kalaeloa area.
“We need a small group like yours to actually take the reins and make it happen,” Painter told HCDA board members. “I think Roosevelt (Avenue) is very important. We’re really afraid that if you guys don’t help us, nobody will.”
