With just over six weeks until the University of Hawaii’s first home football game, Aloha Stadium is asking HART what road conditions to expect and seeking solutions to streamline traffic flow.
After playing its first two games in Australia and Michigan, UH has a Sept. 10 home opener against Tennessee-
Martin. Stadium manager Scott Chan said he has concerns about Kamehameha Highway traffic.
“I’m concerned that (if) we have only one (lane) of traffic on each side that would really impact the game,” Chan told HART representatives at Thursday’s Stadium Authority meeting.
Currently some areas of Kamehameha Highway near the stadium are reduced to one lane where construction is taking place.
Chan said he wants to “Make sure that we have a detailed traffic plan when it comes to our first game on the 10th.”
Chris Takashige, HART Deputy Director of Design &Construction, told the Stadium Authority that officials hold weekly maintenance of traffic meetings and they would get back to Chan.
Construction also has reduced Aloha Stadium’s available parking stalls by 1,040, or 13 percent, since 2014.
Questions about traffic flow come in the wake of a massive snarl at the Jan. 31 NFL Pro Bowl that forced long delays and frustrated some fans enough to turn back.
Chan said, “People make accusations about what took place, but I think they need to understand that it is a partnership, a collaborative effort by many, not just Aloha Stadium. A lot depends on the client and the consultants they bring in that may modify some of the existing procedures. That made for a very challenging day.”
Chan said, “But the clients pay the bill and bring in the event.”
For Rainbow Warrior games, Chan said the stadium is working with UH for ways to get fans into the stadium sooner and also reduce the postgame traffic crunch with events. “We want to enhance the fan experience,” Chan said.
The stadium is planning a pregame tailgate in an expanded no-alcohol “family zone” and other events. It also hopes to offer postgame entertainment along with saimin and barbecue meat sticks stands in the south end zone plaza.
“We want to give fans some options before they contemplate getting into that fray of traffic at the end of the game,” Chan said.
