Question: Are they still issuing tickets at the red-light camera intersections? Seems like it’s getting worse during rush hour on Vineyard Boulevard as cars are blocking the intersections at Nuuanu Avenue and also Pali Highway.
Answer: Yes, automated enforcement of red-light running remains in effect and has resulted in a total of 13,447 citations being issued at 10 Oahu intersections through Oct. 30, according to statistics provided by the state Department of Transportation. Of that total, 348 tickets were generated at Vineyard and Nuuanu, where citations went live on Jan. 6, 2023, and 820 at Vineyard and Pali, where they have been issued since Jan. 25, 2023.
Oahu’s Red-Light Safety Camera two-year pilot program went live with citations on Nov. 11, 2022, at Vineyard Boulevard and Palama Street. Cameras were added at the nine other intersections over time, most recently at McCully and Algaroba streets, which began ticketing on May 14, 2023, according to the state DOT.
As for your concern about gridlock, the red-light cameras “do not ticket vehicles already in the intersection when the light turns red. Please note that this does not mean that blocking the intersection is not illegal, it is just not enforced by the red-light safety cameras. Drivers blocking an intersection may be cited under the Revised Ordinances of Honolulu Section 15-12.2,” Shelly Kunishige, a DOT spokesperson, said in an email.
That law says that “no driver of a vehicle shall enter an intersection or a marked or unmarked crosswalk, unless there is sufficient space on the other side of the intersection or crosswalk to accommodate the vehicle such person is driving without obstructing the passage of other vehicles or pedestrians, notwithstanding any traffic control signal indication to proceed.”
Honolulu police continue to enforce this and other traffic laws. By contrast, the cameras enforce only straight-through violations of the red light, which occur when a vehicle illegally enters the intersection while the light is red. The cameras take multiple pictures of an alleged infraction from the rear of the vehicle.
Q: On the corner of Keolu Drive and Keolu Drive in Kailua, the pedestrian crossing buttons do not work. This is needed because this is a highly used route for people who walk each day and because drivers speed around the corners without looking for pedestrians. Who can be contacted to take care of this problem?
A: This would be a task for the Traffic Signals Division of Honolulu’s Department of Transportation Services, which can be reached during regular business hours at 808-768-8387, said DTS spokesperson Travis Ota. Staff will be sent to fix the problem at the location you described, Ota said Friday.
Keolu Drive, which loops around to intersect with itself, is a popular exercise route.
Q: For the past year or so there have been seven orange cones and one orange stanchion on the corner of Keolu Drive and Hamakua Drive. They have been there so long the writing that said BWS has faded and there is about a foot of grass growing out the top of one of the cones. These were left when there was a water main break some time ago, but they were never picked up. Who can be contacted to remove these things?
A: Try calling the Honolulu Board of Water Supply at 808-748-5000 (press zero after you hear the recorded greeting) or email contactus@hbws.org. We emailed the BWS communications office on Friday to confirm these were the preferred contact methods for this type of complaint, but did not hear back by deadline.
Mahalo Roundup
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