State renews push for Laniakea barriers after child hit crossing highway

The state Department of Transportation has renewed efforts to push for barriers at Laniakea, also known as “Turtle Beach,” in the wake of a child’s injury Thursday by a vehicle on the congested stretch of North Shore roadway.

Tourists frequently stop there to see Hawaiian green sea turtles resting on the sand.

The 10-year-old boy, who was visiting from San Jose, Calif., was discharged from the hospital Friday and left Hawaii with his parents Saturday. He was rushed to The Queen’s Medical Center in serious condition Thursday after he was hit while crossing Kamehameha Highway at about 2:30 p.m.

Witnesses said the child flew about 10 to 15 feet before landing in the roadway, Honolulu Emergency Services Department spokeswoman Shayne Enright said in an email.

Ocean Safety personnel provided medical treatment, taking spinal injury precautions. Emergency Medical Services provided advanced lifesaving treatment and transported the boy to the hospital. The Visitor Aloha Society of Hawaii, a nonprofit that aids visitors in distress, assisted the boy and his family after the incident.

VASH President and CEO Jessica Lani Rich said, “The family was very concerned when he was hit and they were concerned that he was in a lot of pain. They were really relieved that they were able to take him home.

“I’ve always had concerns about safety in that particular area.There are no crosswalks, no lights, no parking. This is a situation that was just waiting for an accident to happen and that accident happened this week, sadly to a 10-year-old boy.”

DOT said Friday that it “is confident that if the barriers were in place this collision would not have happened.”

Laniakea Beach has generated controversy due to concerns over parking along the mauka side of the highway and pedestrians, who haphazardly cross the highway with no crosswalks.

Residents have complained that the large number of pedestrians crossing the road at Laniakea slows traffic in both directions for miles and creates a dangerous situation. A community-based task force was formed to address the problem in 2011.

Back in December 2013, the DOT installed approximately 1,000 feet of concrete barriers on the mauka side of the highway to reduce random pedestrian crossings and potential accidents. DOT said the barriers “were proven to reduce vehicular conflicts and maintain traffic flow on Kamehameha Highway.”

However, DOT was forced to remove them in 2015 after the state Circuit Court issued an injunction favoring the Save Laniakea Coalition and five individuals who had filed a lawsuit to remove the barriers.

DOT’s other attempts at solutions have been delayed in court and by administrative boards; however, they continue to press the issue.

In August 2015, DOT removed the barriers and installed signs banning parking, stopping, standing, loading or unloading. Then DOT began working to obtain the Special Management Area permit to install the barriers.

When DOT was informed that the proposed location of the barriers was in a state conservation district, it began pursuing shoreline certification from the state Department of Land and Natural Resources.

DLNR denied the request on July 5, 2018, after a community member filed a notice of appeal; however, DOT said DLNR’s determination on a second application for shoreline certification is due Aug. 19.

DOT said in late June its legal representation offered an interim solution to add barriers, with openings on either side, and a marked crosswalk. However, in late July, plaintiffs submitted a counter proposal that would also require taking city land to add additional parking and room for a “waiting” lane.

But DOT said that solutions like the proposed “waiting” lane and others like a pedestrian overpass, underpasses and traffic signals, require “environmental approvals by law and sufficient funding.”

In the meantime, DOT said it has directed its consultant to pursue an environmental clearance to move the road mauka within the highway right-of-way, which would allow for limited parking on the makai side. However, such a measure would likely take two years and cost $6 million to $8 million.