Pedestrians would primarily be allowed to cross a road after dark at crosswalks or intersections under a bill being considered by the Honolulu City Council. The bill also would prohibit panhandling along major roadways.
Councilman Ron Menor, who introduced Bill 18, said the measure is a pedestrian safety measure. “The city needs to consider every possible option to address the growing problem of pedestrian accidents,” he said.
The bill says pedestrians may cross only at marked crosswalks and signalized intersections between one-half hour after sunset and one-half hour before sunrise — unless there are no marked crosswalks or signalized intersections within 300 feet. Violators would be fined $100.
Under current law, pedestrians already must cross in a marked or unmarked crosswalk, including intersections — in business districts. In residential districts, pedestrians can cross not just in a marked or unmarked crosswalk, but also when no crosswalk exists within 200 feet.
The Council Transportation Committee heard the measure Thursday, but Transportation Chairman Brandon Elefante postponed a vote on the measure to allow city attorneys to look into its legality.
Honolulu Police Department Capt. Mikel Kunishima testified in support of the bill. “We support improving any protection for pedestrians and motorists,” he said. The “half-hour after sunset” and “half-hour after sunrise” provisions pose a concern, he said, because “it’s a changing scale that law enforcement has to do on a daily basis.”
The bill additionally prohibits panhandling along major roads by barring
pedestrians from loitering on road medians or islands when the road has a speed limit of 35 mph or faster, or has an average traffic
volume of 15,000 vehicles or more daily.
Elefante asked Kunishima how officers would determine when it’s sunrise or sunset.
Kunishima said officers could consult with dispatchers for a time check or research on their own mobile devices. Officers may possibly just wait until it’s clearly dark before beginning enforcement, he said.
Menor said his bill is patterned after a 2017
ordinance in the city of Springfield, Mo.
Two Oahu residents submitted written testimony opposing the bill.
Amy Ford-Wagner said the bill is an attempt at an easy fix to a complex problem.
“If people are trying to cross the road there must be a good reason they are doing so — there are places that they need to go (night OR day), and the distance between safe crossing facilities is too long,” Ford-Wagner said. “That they lack proper facilities for crossing is the issue, and our city leaders should focus on providing those facilities.”
Natalie Iwasa also said making it more difficult for pedestrians to get around after dark is not the solution. Instead, she said, the city should encourage people to take youths and seniors to the intersections they use and to find the safest ways to approach them, crack down on motorists who practice rolling stops at stop signs and signalized intersections, and remind motorists to use more care, especially in areas where pedestrians have been hit.
The state Disability and Communications Access Board testified in favor of the bill, noting that those with disabilities often “have elevated risk factors when interacting with vehicular traffic.”
