STAND. COM. REP. NO. 442-26

Honolulu, Hawaii

, 2026

RE: H.B. No. 1884

H.D. 1

Honorable Nadine K. Nakamura

Speaker, House of Representatives

Thirty-Third State Legislature

Regular Session of 2026

State of Hawaii

Madame:

Your Committee on Transportation, to which was referred H.B. No. 1884 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO TRANSPORTATION,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to:

(1) Require and appropriate funds for the Department of Transportation to install leading pedestrian intervals and accessible pedestrian signals;

(2) Ensure that accessible pedestrian signals are installed at intersections where leading pedestrian intervals are already installed;

(3) Require the Department of Transportation, in coordination with the counties, to establish a program through which pedestrians and community members may request the installation of accessible pedestrian signals at specific intersections; and

(4) Require that additional safety improvements, such as "No Turn on Red" signs, are implemented as necessary where leading pedestrian intervals and accessible pedestrian signals are installed.

Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Department of Transportation; Department of Health; Oahu Metropolitan Planning Organization; Disability and Communication Access Board; one member of the Kauaʻi County Council; Hawaii Association of the Blind; Hawaii Disability Rights Center; Hawaiʻi Bicycling League; Hawaiʻi Appleseed Center for Law & Economic Justice; Get Fit Kauaʻi; PATH – People for Active Transportation Hawaii; Hawaiʻi Public Health Institute; Our Children's Trust; National Federation of the Blind of Hawaii; and numerous individuals.

Your Committee finds that pedestrian fatalities in Hawaii have increased at an alarming rate in recent years, underscoring the urgent need for proven safety interventions. Evidence-based tools, such as leading pedestrian intervals and accessible pedestrian signals, have been shown to reduce conflicts between turning vehicles and pedestrians while improving safe crossing opportunities for individuals who are blind or have low vision. By supporting the development and implementation of the Department of Transportation's systematic leading pedestrian intervals implementation plan, which includes data-driven evaluation of intersections and the ability for community members to request evaluations for leading pedestrian intervals and accessible pedestrian signals at specific intersections, this measure advances pedestrian safety, accessibility, and equity throughout the State.

Your Committee has amended this measure by:

(1) Providing the Department of Transportation flexibility in the installation of leading pedestrian intervals and accessible pedestrian signals at certain intersections through an evaluation process;

(2) Deleting language that would have required that a leading pedestrian interval programmed when maintenance work is next performed on the intersection in which the signal is located;

(3) Deleting language that would have appropriated funds for the Department of Transportation to install leading pedestrian intervals and accessible pedestrian signals;

(4) Changing the effective date to July 1, 3000, to encourage further discussion; and

(5) Making technical, nonsubstantive amendments for the purposes of clarity, consistency, and style.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Transportation that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 1884, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 1884, H.D. 1, and be referred to your Committee on Finance.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Transportation,

____________________________

DARIUS KILA, Chair