Question: I am 92 years old and on Social Security. On Aug. 16 around 4 p.m., I got a $130 ticket for crossing South Beretania Street at Kaialiu Street against the signal. There were no cars in sight. A young man in front of me started off, and so I went, too. I’ve followed the law my whole life. The one time I make a mistake, I get this big fine. Couldn’t they have given a warning instead? I would have learned my lesson just as well. I paid the ticket, but could you please reach someone at the city and ask them to monitor this signal? We wait much longer here than at other lights. They need to make it responsive to pedestrians. Even if they could shorten the wait by a minute or so, it would make a difference. The walk light for pedestrians is too short, and the green light for cars is too long. We need to cross the street to catch the bus, go to the senior center, etc. We have to make our voices heard.
Q: Does HPD bait citizens into jaywalking? I got a ticket the other day in Moiliili, and I swear I crossed because this other guy did it first. It made me wonder.
Answer: We’ve received several calls from readers cited for pedestrian infractions recently. So we asked the Honolulu Police Department whether enforcement is ramping up, as well as your specific questions.
Michelle Yu, an HPD spokeswoman, said officers enforce pedestrian infractions throughout the island, typically in areas with heavy foot traffic; she wouldn’t mention specific locations. Yes, plainclothes officers (not in uniform) sometimes pose as pedestrians in enforcement operations, she said.
Officers are authorized to use discretion and may issue a warning rather than a citation, she said; we don’t know why neither of you got a pass. An officer would not be able to determine whether a person had received a previous warning, she said. The fine for most pedestrian infractions is $130.
We’ve asked the city Department of Transportation Services, which oversees traffic signals on municipal streets, about the signal at Beretania and Kaialiu streets, near the Moiliili Longs. We’ve also inquired more broadly about how the public can seek adjustments to traffic signals elsewhere in the city. DTS spokesman Travis Ota is looking into these questions and promised to get back to us.
In follow-up phone calls the first reader acknowledged that it is dangerous to cross against the light, while emphasizing that she had not done so before and expressing frustration about the long wait pedestrians have at that particular traffic signal. She wants other senior citizens to avoid burdensome fines.
Many injuries and fatalities occur when a pedestrian crosses outside of a crosswalk or against the signal, Yu said. In 2018, 28 pedestrians died on Oahu roadways.
“Please ask the Kokua Line readers to enter the crosswalk when the white WALK or walking person light is on. Do not begin walking if the red DON’T WALK or upraised hand is flashing or steady. (In other words, only enter on the white light. Once the red signal comes on, wait until the next cycle to enter the crosswalk.) Drivers should look out for pedestrians, especially those who could be hidden from view by stopped or parked vehicles and during the hours of dawn and dusk,” Yu said in an email.
“The responsibility for road safety belongs to both drivers and pedestrians. HPD asks everyone who uses the road to slow down, be attentive and obey all traffic signals,” she said, offering more safety tips at 808ne.ws/hpdped.
Q: Will the bus and rail fare be interchangeable?
A: That’s one of the issues being considered by the Honolulu Rate Commission; it hasn’t been decided.
Write to Kokua Line at Honolulu Star-Advertiser, 7 Waterfront Plaza, Suite 210, 500 Ala Moana Blvd., Honolulu 96813; call 529-4773; fax 529-4750; or email kokualine@staradvertiser.com.
