STAND. COM. REP. NO. 1405

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: S.C.R. No. 21

S.D. 1

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Thirty-First State Legislature

Regular Session of 2021

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Transportation, to which was referred S.C.R. No. 21 entitled:

"SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION REQUESTING THE DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION AND KAUAI DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC WORKS TO CONDUCT A STUDY TO IDENTIFY AND RECOMMEND METHODS TO ALLEVIATE TRAFFIC CONGESTION AT CERTAIN INTERSECTIONS ALONG THE KAUMUALII HIGHWAY,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose and intent of this measure is to request the Department of Transportation along with the Kauai Department of Public Works to conduct a joint study to identify and recommend methods to alleviate traffic congestion at certain points along Kaumualii Highway.

Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Department of Transportation.

Your Committee finds that Kaumualii Highway in the County of Kauai is a thirty-three-mile highway that passes through some of the largest communities on Kauai, including Lihue, Omao, Koloa, Kalaheo, and Waimea, among others. Additionally, seventeen of the county's largest employers are located in communities near Kaumualii Highway. Due to the growing population of Kauai County along with the proximity to some of the area's largest employers, Kaumualii Highway experiences some of the worst traffic congestion in the county. This measure requests the Department of Transportation and the Kauai Department of Public Works to conduct a joint study to identify and recommend methods to alleviate traffic congestion at certain points along the highway.

Your Committee has amended this measure by:

(1) Changing the date by which the Department of Transportation and Kauai Department of Public Works are requested to present their findings and recommendations to the Legislature from 2022 to 2023; and

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

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Transportation that is attached to this report, your Committee concurs with the intent and purpose of S.C.R. No. 21, as amended herein, and recommends its adoption in the form attached hereto as S.C.R. No. 21, S.D. 1.

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

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CHRIS LEE, Chair