STAND

STAND. COM. REP. NO.1104-02

Honolulu, Hawaii

, 2002

RE: H.C.R. No. 64

H.D. 1

Honorable Calvin K.Y. Say

Speaker, House of Representatives

Twenty-First State Legislature

Regular Session of 2002

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committees on Transportation and Health, to which was referred H.C.R. No. 64 entitled:

"HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION REQUESTING THE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION, THE DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION, AND THE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH TO COORDINATE THEIR RESOURCES TO DEVELOP A "SAFE ROUTES TO SCHOOL" PROGRAM IN HAWAII,"

beg leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this concurrent resolution is to request that the Department of Education (DOE), Department of Transportation (DOT) and Department of Health (DOH) coordinate their resources to develop a "Safe Routes to School" Program (Program) in Hawaii.

DOH testified in support of the intent of this measure. DOE testified in opposition to this measure. DOT commented on this measure.

Routes to schools present special challenges for young pedestrians and bicyclists since traffic around schools can be very congested, with buses and parents dropping off or picking up children. In fact, being hit by a car while walking is the second leading cause of ambulance-attended injury to children ages 5 to 14, with more than 130 of these children being injured annually as pedestrians.

The Program attempts to prevent these traffic-related injuries to children and promote a healthier lifestyle through walking.

Although your Committees understand the worthiness of this Program, your Committees feel that this measure should be amended in an effort to better implement the Program. Accordingly, your Committees have amended this measure by:

(1) Changing the lead agency from DOE to DOH, as the Keiki Injury Prevention Coalition of DOH may have a better understanding of the current situation and more adequate resources to coordinate the other agencies involved;

(2) Requiring that appropriate county agencies be included in the development of the Program since they have jurisdiction over much of the land and roadways around schools;

(3) Requiring that People Advocacy for Trails Hawaii (PATH), an ongoing, community-driven program in Kona that has currently developed a similar type of program, be used as a model program to develop the Program in Hawaii;

(4) Changing its title to read as follows: "REQUESTING THE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION, THE DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION, AND THE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH, ALONG WITH THE APPROPRIATE COUNTY AGENCIES, TO COORDINATE THEIR RESOURCES TO DEVELOP A "SAFE ROUTES TO SCHOOL" PROGRAM IN HAWAII"; and

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

As affirmed by the records of votes of the members of your Committees on Transportation and Health that are attached to this report, your Committees concur with the intent and purpose of H.C.R. No. 64, as amended herein, and recommend that it be referred to the Committee on Education in the form attached hereto as H.C.R. No. 64, H.D. 1.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committees on Transportation and Health,

____________________________ DENNIS A. ARAKAKI, Chair		____________________________ JOSEPH M. SOUKI, Chair