Yes, Kauai has had a terrible flooding incident, from which it’s still digging out, and lawmakers have responded with relief funding for residents and emergency measures to re-establish highway operations. But the Garden Island’s transportation woes have long predated the Great Flood of 2018.

On Thursday the state Department of Transportation announced plans to open a one-lane emergency access route to Wainiha and Haena; it was due to be open by today, accommodating emergency responders and disaster recovery operations only.

Other than that, Kuhio Highway, one of the principal arterials serving Kauai, has been closed since the April 14 storm, from Waikoko to Wainiha.

Even without any storm debris, Kuhio is choked — with traffic. There are several projects meant to improve flow, but not due for completion for a few years. These include adding lanes to the Temporary Kapaa Bypass Road, adding a southbound lane on Kuhio between Kuamoo Road and Kapule Highway and various other optimizations.

A status report on the DOT website also lists repairs to Kauai’s famously aging bridges and sundry maintenance efforts.

This can’t be enough to do the job. It’s been a long time since Kauai could be described as sufficiently rural to get by with thin perimeter roadways. Even after the recovery work ends, policymakers need to take a hard look at real solutions to its ongoing transportation deficiencies.

Time to reconsider flood insurance

The flooding that sent muddy water pouring through homes on Kauai’s North Shore and parts of East Honolulu brought new attention to the necessity — and critical limitations — of flood insurance in Hawaii.

Most homeowner insurance policies don’t cover floods — the most common and costly natural disaster, according to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

Flood insurance through the National Flood Insurance Program generally covers up to $250,000 in damage to a home. That sounds like a lot — if you live on the mainland. In areas of Houston ravaged by Hurricane Harvey, you can buy a home outright for about $250,000 — and that’s for an undamaged one. Speculators were buying flood-damaged homes in nice neighborhoods for $135,000.

In high-cost Hawaii, however, a quarter-million dollars might not cover much. Hawaii Housing Authority chief Hakim Ouansafi, whose large Niu Valley house suffered extensive flood damage, told Hawaii News Now that $250,000 won’t even get him halfway home; another $500,000 or so might be needed.

Your costs may vary, but preparing for a future flood is always a good idea. The basics: Make an inventory of your valuables, including sales receipts, model and serial numbers, and insurance company contacts. Put the inventory, along with your other important documents, in a safe, high-and-dry place. Take it out when you need to make a claim.

For more information, visit http://cca.hawaii.gov/ins/consumers/flood/. And if you want to see if your property is in a flood plain, visit FEMA’s mapping website at https://msc.fema.gov.

Property tax surcharge for DOE?

It’ll now be in the voters’ hands. After recent years of lobbying, Hawaii’s teachers union and supporters have successfully pressed state legislators to advance a proposed amendment to the state Constitution for more funding. Here’s the question that will go before voters in the Nov. 6 general election:

“Shall the Legislature be authorized to establish, as provided by law, a surcharge on investment real property to be used to support public education?”

Such a (seemingly) simple question — but in actuality, loaded with complexities. If passed, Hawaii’s amended Constitution would enable the 2019 Legislature, and perhaps future ones, to devise the actual parameters of the “school tax” mechanism. The intent, lawmakers have said, is to impose “a surcharge on investment real property” on higher-priced, non-owner-occupant residential properties. Just what that higher-priced benchmark might be, how much of a surcharge and how it would be administered and intersect with county property tax-collecting all would be part of the debate for the next Legislature.

If passed by voters in November, the surcharge is intended to supplement the current means of budgeting for the statewide Department of Education: the general excise tax, incomes taxes and hotel room tax. Advocates say the supplement is crucial to cover myriad needs, such as better wages and facilities. Currently, Hawaii’s Constitution gives the counties exclusive power to levy property taxes.

Voters need to make time to fully understand what they’ll be voting for. It matters how funding is derived and then used.