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Traffic congestion topped the list of problem issues identified by visitors to the carolfukunaga.com website during the past year, and with traffic safety has among the most frequently discussed topics in neighborhood meetings. Neighborhood stakeholders are working to reduce hazards in certain problem areas. Increased congestion on Nehoa Street has brought area legislators Fukunaga, Belatti, Kobayashi and Gabbard together to seek City Department of Transportation Services and Department of Planning and Permitting assistance with:

• A dedicated left-turn signal at the Nehoa Street/Mott-Smith Drive intersection during the morning rush-hour, which would make it safer for parents to enter Roosevelt High’s parking lot to drop off students;
• Modifications to a pedestrian crosswalk at the corner of Nehoa Street/Lewalani Drive to increase visibility for drivers approaching Punahou School; and
• A public hearing on the Scottish Rite Foundation of Hawaii Day Care Facility’s application for a Conditional Use Permit (CUP/Minor), which would allow it to move its pre-school operations from Wilder Avenue to 1408 Nehoa Street. (Neighboring residents are concerned about traffic queueing on Nehoa Street, at the Keeaumoku/Nehoa intersection during rush-hours.)

The Ala Moana, Sheridan and McCully neighborhoods makai of the H-1 Freeway’s Kinau Street Off-ramp are among the oldest mixed-use communities in Honolulu. In the heart of urban Honolulu, they are densely populated with small businesses, individuals and families of all ages and ethnicities. Combined with the area’s aging infrastructure (streets, sidewalks, paths and gutters) and ever-increasing vehicular and pedestrian traffic, they contribute to serious traffic congestion issues. Overlapping City and State (Hawaii Community Development Authority) jurisdiction in the Ward/Neal Blaisdell Center (NBC) complex area further increases the complexity of traffic planning for the neighborhood between the Cultural District, Sheridan Tract and Kaka’ako Mauka. 

To help relieve traffic congestion issues in the Urban Honolulu-NBC Complex area, Councilmember Kobayashi and Senator Fukunaga organized an Urban Honolulu Traffic Task Force this summer. It is working to identify parking development alternatives to help address ongoing parking needs for the City’s NBC Complex, as well as future parking needs of Thomas Square neighbors, Straub Clinic and Hospital, Honolulu Academy of Arts, McKinley High School and other high-traffic event generators. The initial meetings have identified existing/projected parking needs of property owners and businesses in the area adjacent to NBC and Thomas Square. Further discussions are planned this fall around possible financing strategies; please contact Senator Fukunaga’s office at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it for more information.