Mayor Rick Blangiardi kicks off town hall series in Ewa
Honolulu Mayor Rick Blangiardi this evening hosted a city town hall at Ewa Makai Middle School, where he kicked off a 10-week series of town halls across the island by committing to a site visit at Makakilo Drive following calls from residents to finally extend the road to alleviate local traffic congestion. Honolulu Mayor Rick Blangiardi kicked off a 10-week series of town halls across the island by committing to a site visit at Makakilo Drive following calls from residents to finally extend the road to alleviate local traffic congestion. The first half-hour or so consisted of updates on some major projects or happenings from some the city’s leadership, then the staff fielded questions from the public. An early plan from the city's Department of Transportation Services project sought to extend the top of Makakil Drive and connect it to North-South Road. Other transportation issues, including problems using or obtaining bus passes by those with disabilities, were also brought up during the town hall. The meetings are meant to provide opportunities for the public to express their concerns and suggestions directly to mayor and his staff.
Published : one year ago by Mark Ladao in
Dozens of people attended the meeting at the school for the town hall, which started at 7 p.m., to speak to the 30 or so city employees representing most of the City and County of Honolulu’s executive branch departments. Read more
Honolulu Mayor Rick Blangiardi this evening hosted a city town hall at Ewa Makai Middle School, where he kicked off a 10-week series of town halls across the island by committing to a site visit at Makakilo Drive following calls from residents to finally extend the road to alleviate local traffic congestion.
Dozens of people attended the meeting at the school for the town hall, which started at 7 p.m., to speak to the 30 or so city employees representing most of the City and County of Honolulu’s executive branch departments.
The first half-hour or so consisted of updates on some major projects or happenings from some the city’s leadership.
Then the staff fielded questions from the public, which covered many neighborhood-specific matters but also islandwide and statewide ones as well.
One of the more popular topics brought up by residents is a long-stalled project to extend Makakilo Drive, which received applause from the audience when residents advocated for a speedy construction.
One resident said that those on Makakilo take 2 to 10 miles longer on their commutes because of the congested and limited entry to and exit from Makakilo and that a Makakilo Drive extension project has been promised for more than 20 years.
An early plan from the city’s Department of Transportation Services project sought to extend the top of Makakilo Drive and connect it to North-South Road. Residents said the commute of Makakilo residents would improve if the road was extended.
Makakilo resident Edward Ryglewicz called on Blangiardi to commit to prioritizing the project.
“Why not step up today, right now, and commit on the record that you will support everything possible to have this project completed,” Ryglewicz said to the mayor. “Wouldn’t that be a wonderful accomplishment for you and your team?”
Blangiardi said that the project is expensive and complicated, but committed to a site visit after Ryglewicz invited him to do so.
“I’ll make that commitment to you. … I will come out and personally do that with you,” Blangiardi said.
Roger Morton, director of the city’s Department of Transportation Services, said earlier in the town hall that the original plan, which included a 800-foot bridge over a gulch, was “exceptionally” expensive and complicated.
Morton said it would cost $60 million for construction, which included filling the gulch, but that estimate didn’t even include inspections or property acquisitions. Plans are still in the works to alleviate the concerns of Makakilo residents, he said.
Other transportation issues, including problems using or obtaining bus passes by those with disabilities, were brought up during the town hall.
Michael Kitchens, founder of Stolen Stuff Hawaii, a local, anti-crime social media group, said that homelessness is a growing issue in the Ewa area and said it’s a “major concern” for him.
“I’m starting to see them … in the newer parts of Ewa Beach around convenience stories” he said. “It is quite bad,” he said at the town hall. “I have children, and they are having to step over homeless (people).”
Tonight’s town hall is the first of a total of 11 town hall meetings that will be held by Blangiardi and his administration. They are meant to provide opportunities for the public to express their concerns and suggestions directly to mayor and his staff.
While the mayor’s staff already fields public comments through monthly neighborhood board meetings across Oahu, Ewa Neighborhood Board Chair Mitchell Tynanes said the town halls allow for a more direct conversation between the public and the city’s highest elected officials.
“A lot of things get pushed and done when (elected officials) see first-hand what we’re talking about,” Tynanes said. “When they come out and feel the emotion from the community, I think it’s a big plus for any elected official to come out.”