STAND. COM. REP. NO. 1098

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE:    H.B. No. 1605

       H.D. 1

Honorable Colleen Hanabusa

President of the Senate

Twenty-Fourth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2007

State of Hawaii

Madam:

     Your Committee on Transportation and International Affairs, to which was referred H.B. No. 1605, H.D. 1, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO TRAFFIC CONTROL,"

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose of this measure is to appropriate funds for the development and implementation of an intelligent transportation system architectural plan for Maui, which includes a Maui traffic control center.

     Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Department of Transportation; two Maui County Council Members; Lahaina Bypass.com; Maui Communicators; Sands of Kahana; West Maui Taxpayers Association; Ma‘alaea Community Association; and two individuals.

     Your Committee finds that an intelligent transportation system applies communications and information technology to provide solutions to congestion and traffic control issues.  Such a system could use a variety of field devices, including traffic cameras, in partnership with a traffic control center via a single mode fiber-optic network to effectively alleviate traffic congestion in a geographic area.

     Testimony from Maui indicates that traffic delays continue to intensify.  Access to and from West Maui is disrupted every time there is a traffic accident on the Honoapiilani Highway between Pali and Puamana.  Your Committee further finds that traffic should be rerouted to the former cane haul road in these instances, which would provide an open corridor for emergency vehicles and limit the disruption of traffic on the highway.  Currently, access to West Maui is completely cut off when there is a fire or an accident.  Your Committee believes that providing funds to develop and implement an intelligent transportation architectural plan and a traffic control center for Maui will help eliminate such future occurrences.

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Transportation and International Affairs that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 1605, H.D. 1, and recommends that it pass Second Reading and be referred to the Committee on Ways and Means.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Transportation and International Affairs,

____________________________

J. KALANI ENGLISH, Chair