Column: Safer roadways, accountability needed

Todd Hart was riding his bike home the afternoon of Jan. 3, 2016. Although he was wearing an orange safety vest, he had not chosen to wear one of his many helmets. After a ride along Kailua Beach Park, Todd headed mauka into the Kailua Estates neighborhood. At the Y-intersection with Awakea Road, fronting Kaelepulu Mini Park, a driver tried to pass Todd to continue along Awakea Road.

As the car sped around Todd, it clipped his handlebars, knocking him onto the ground, where he hit his head. Fire, police and EMS came immediately and transferred Todd to the hospital, in a coma, where he would stay for several weeks.

Todd was transferred to California where he underwent multiple brain surgeries to relieve the swelling in his head. His wife, Veronica, fought to have Todd taken to a specialty rehab center, where for the next few months, he would have to relearn how to talk and walk.

How did this happen? Roadway design and high traffic volumes. The crash location is one of several Oahu intersections designed and built out over the years with roads intersecting at angles less than 90 degrees. As the number of cars using this neighborhood road doubled over the past 20 years to almost 5,000 vehicles daily, the result was fewer gaps in traffic and a greater likelihood of conflicts between users, including vehicles, bicyclists and pedestrians.

Speed is also a factor. While two speed humps exist along the 1,700-foot Aumoe Road, they are spaced 500 feet apart, far enough for vehicles to speed between them.

Consequently, Aumoe Road is still used by cut-through traffic trying to bypass the traffic signal at Kailua Road and Wanaao Road, heading between Enchanted Lake and Kailua Beach Park. Similarly, residents along Awakea Road had been asking the city to install speed humps for 30 years.

What can be done to prevent crashes like this? Following Todd’s injury, the community came together to brainstorm solutions. Elected officials and representatives from the police, city Department of Transportation Services, state Department of Health, and advocacy groups Hawaii Bicycling League and Blue Zones Hawaii joined the meetings to push for safer streets.

The community favored installing a neighborhood mini-circle to slow traffic speeds and improve operations at the intersection.

The city determined that a preferred solution was to realign the approaches of Awakea Road and Pouli Street to intersect with Aumoe at 90-degrees. This would channel vehicles into more-predictable turn movements while also slowing turning vehicles, which would increase safety for all.

These improvements were implemented earlier this year, 3.5 years after Todd’s crash. The city installed pavement markings and raised curbing/delineators to reduce ambiguity at the intersection and added the long-desired speed humps along Awakea Road.

Anecdotally, the treatments seem to be effective in reducing speed and volume on Awakea Road. Some drivers still take the turns from Aumoe to Awakea too fast, only to be met by the first of four speed humps spaced 200-300 feet apart along the 1,200-foot road, forcing vehicle speed to 15-20 mph.

However, cars still speed before, after and between the existing speed humps on Aumoe Road, highlighting how speed hump spacing can be a key factor in influencing driver behavior.

As for Todd, he is now back home with Veronica. This unfortunate collision could have happened to anyone. This crash offers lessons in how we can all support safety through slowing down, respecting others’ rights to the road with aloha, and supporting roadway design for improved safety and traffic calming.

Todd has been telling anyone who will listen: “Wear a helmet,” if you care about your life and your loved ones. Even if you do everything correctly, you can’t control the actions of others.