HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES	H.C.R. NO.	19
THIRTY-SECOND LEGISLATURE, 2023		S.D. 1
STATE OF HAWAII

HOUSE CONCURRENT

RESOLUTION

URGING THE DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION SERVICES OF THE CITY AND COUNTY OF HONOLULU TO CONDUCT A FEASIBILITY STUDY OF WIDENING THE PORTION OF UNIVERSITY AVENUE BETWEEN MAILE WAY AND OAHU AVENUE TO BECOME A COMPLETE STREET PROVIDING SAFE AND PROTECTED TRANSIT FOR ALL MODES.

WHEREAS, Manoa Valley is a residential neighborhood of Honolulu and has eighteen thousand six hundred households, a population of 46,865, and a non-resident workforce of 25,230; and

WHEREAS, Manoa Valley is also home to the University of Hawaii at Manoa, Mid-Pacific Institute, Noelani and Manoa elementary schools, four private schools, sixty-three general businesses, eighteen clubs and associations, twenty-five community service entities, eighteen faith-based organizations, fourteen health care centers, fourteen nonprofit organizations, and nine kupuna care centers; and

WHEREAS, Manoa Valley ingress and egress is limited to two roads: Manoa Road and University Avenue; and

WHEREAS, each day, bicycles and motor vehicles, including buses, firetrucks, ambulances, commercial vehicles, and passenger vehicles, travel on University Avenue, creating a significant traffic safety concern; and

WHEREAS, Manoa Valley contains three heavily used hiking trails, Manoa Falls trail, Puu Pia trail, and Kolowalu trail, resulting in the valley being Oahu's second most frequented destination by visitors and residents, further exacerbating traffic congestion throughout the valley; and

WHEREAS, Manoa Valley District Park, the second most used city park on Oahu, hosts a myriad of events; sports activities such as baseball, softball, soccer, tennis, pickleball, volleyball, basketball, and swimming; summer fun programs; senior citizen programs; open markets; community gardening; and disaster preparedness programs; and

WHEREAS, there exists an immediate need to improve traffic safety throughout Manoa Valley; and

WHEREAS, one possible way to alleviate traffic congestion and improve traffic safety in Manoa Valley is to widen the portion of University Avenue between Maile Way and Oahu Avenue; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Thirty-second Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2023, the Senate concurring, that the Department of Transportation Services of the City and County of Honolulu is urged to conduct a feasibility study of widening the portion of University Avenue between Maile Way and Oahu Avenue to become a complete street providing safe and protected transit for all modes; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Department of Transportation Services of the City and County of Honolulu is also requested to submit a report of its findings and recommendations, including any proposed legislation, to the Legislature no later than twenty days prior to the convening of the regular session of 2024; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a certified copy of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Director of Transportation Services of the City and County of Honolulu.

Report Title:

Transportation; City and County of Honolulu; Department of Transportation Services; University Avenue; Manoa Valley; Feasibility Study; Complete Streets