Farrington Highway is the backbone of the Waianae Coast. Residents depend on this single thoroughfare to an extent not seen in most other residential communities on Oahu.
It’s time that its critical nature is acknowledged more fully in state and county traffic-safety policies and budgets.
That’s why the call to install safety improvements to hazardous spots along the state highway follows the correct instinct. Lawmakers should ensure that the state Department of Transportation has such items budgeted in the coming fiscal year.
Specifically, legislators representing the Waianae Coast are proposing the installation of reflectors at crosswalks beyond the signal-protected cross streets along the highway. Almost all the primary business and community points of interest line Farrington, which means virtually everyone running errands at some point has cause to cross the highway.
Seven unprotected crosswalks from Nanakuli to Maili have been highlighted by state Rep. Andria Tupola (R, Kalaeloa-Ko Olina-Maili). These are spots that should get priority for installations that would improve safety, such as reflectors that pick up headlights and embedded lights activated by a crossing pedestrian.
Two that residents cite most frequently are crossings near Kaupuni Street in Waianae and one by the Makaha Surfside Condominium, said state Sen. Maile Shimabukuro (D, Kalaeloa-Waianae-Makaha).
Shimabukuro also pointed out that reflectors previously placed in Makaha had been stolen. Installations should be hardened to discourage such thefts, but these episodes shouldn’t change the basic calculation: Pedestrians need greater visibility on a highway that can be very dark after sunset.
At any time of day, Farrington Highway is plainly a hazardous zone. Its persistent traffic congestion frustrates drivers, and compounds driver inattention and the temptation to speed when lanes open up.
None of this is news to statisticians. State Health Department figures show that 16 of the 214 pedestrian fatalities occurring islandwide between 2005 and 2014 were on the Waianae Coast. This year alone, two of the 19 pedestrian fatalities occurred on Farrington Highway, one involving a woman hit by a truck while she was crossing at Mohihi Street.
The National Complete Streets Coalition published a study last year, titled “Dangerous by Design.” In it, the state was ranked most hazardous in the nation for pedestrians age 65 and older.
Such data points don’t surprise anyone at the state DOT. Its 2013 report on various enhancements of pedestrian safety underscored Farrington Highway as one of 13 priority areas; its top-line projects include restriping crosswalks, but officials have said it is open to “additional adjustments” such as reflectors.
By last week, this year’s DOT count of pedestrian crashes on the coast had reached 30, and most of the ones occurring between 2004 and 2008 happened in crosswalks.
Farrington Highway’s toll of traffic deaths also include fatalities involving motorists, of course, including the tragedy endured by the family of 19-year-old Harvey Hashimoto Jr. The early-Sunday crash that took his life led some of his neighbors to call for traffic-calming improvements, which is a good idea.
It’s also true that drivers and pedestrians bear much responsibility to use caution wherever they intersect with traffic.
But reducing the sad tally of pedestrian fatalities ought to be one line of attack for legislators and policymakers. Expanding public education efforts should be part of the strategy.
And if Hawaii is to implement its long-touted Complete Streets policy, part of that completion would be to ensure that pedestrians on those streets can be seen, and can cross them safely.
