THE SENATE	S.R. NO.	99
THIRTY-SECOND LEGISLATURE, 2024
STATE OF HAWAII

SENATE RESOLUTION

urging the department of transportation to work with the city and county of honolulu to plan and implement options for alternative ingress and egress routes in pacific palisades.

WHEREAS, maintaining emergency access roads that provide more than one way in and out of a developed area is essential to public safety; and

WHEREAS, unobstructed access for emergency vehicles is necessary to reduce response times, which are critical in lifesaving situations; and

WHEREAS, best practices for emergency preparedness require more than one evacuation route; and

WHEREAS, emergency preparedness, evacuation plans, and traffic mitigation were all mentioned among findings and recommendations of the Lahaina Wildfire Interim Schools Working Group; and

WHEREAS, the recent devastating Maui wildfires revealed the importance of evacuation routes featuring more than one point of ingress and egress; and

WHEREAS, Pacific Palisades is extremely vulnerable to natural disasters such as hurricane high winds and flash flooding; and

WHEREAS, Pacific Palisades is built on a plateau above the main portion of Pearl City and the only access road to the area is Komo Mai Drive, a one lane, winding, steep road with a hairpin turn at the base of the Palisades; and

WHEREAS, because Pacific Palisades only has one route for ingress and egress, additional options for alternative access routes are needed so the community is prepared in case of emergency; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Thirty-second Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2024, that the Department of Transportation is urged to work with the City and County of Honolulu to plan and implement options for alternative ingress and egress routes in Pacific Palisades; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Department of Transportation is requested to provide a plan, along with a timeline for completion of an alternative emergency egress route from Pacific Palisades, to the Legislature no later than twenty days prior to the convening of the Regular Session of 2025; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Resolution be transmitted to the Director of Transportation and Mayor of the City and County of Honolulu.

OFFERED BY:

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Report Title:

Department of Transportation; Pacific Palisades; Emergency Egress