Traffic - One of my "not-so-favorite things" about Hawaii
Now here we are speaking strictly of Oahu, which is where I live. Some of the other islands have their own contentions, but Oahu definitely has its own as well.
If you are familiar with Oahu's layout, Honolulu lays on the south to southeast part of the island...with the main way in and out is H-1 (its basically an interstate...with no other state to "inter" into). We live on the leeward side of Oahu (the more dry, not so rainy west side), which means we drive eastbound on H-1 to get to Honolulu (here often referred to as "town"), then westbound on H-1 to get back home.
The traffic from about 3:30 in the afternoon until almost 7:00pm (!) is sometimes unreal. And it can get a little frustrating. During "non-traffic" times it takes us about 25 minutes to get to downtown Honolulu from our house (depending on where you are going). During the "high-traffic" times, it can take well over an hour (now for some of you in larger cities that may be no big deal, but when you live in Hawaii...things are not supposed to be so "hustle-bustle"...know what I mean?).
Now going downtown as often as I do, after a while I began to get "the hang of it"...and started figuring out how to minimize all of that traffic time (best way to minimize it is to not be on H-1 from 3:30 to 7:00...duh). And if you live here, you will begin to figure it out too (I'm not disclosing my route...if I do, my route will start to stink and I'll have to figure out another way...I know, that's selfish).
But one thing is for sure, Oahu has GOT TO DO BETTER about the traffic situation. It is something that most locals here push their local officials to "get right". And they really do need to figure something out. Case in point...a few weeks ago a tractor trailer was traveling westbound on H-1 and the top of the trailer struck a pedestrian crosswalk that went over the highway. The overpass (the concrete crosswalk) became unsafe to travel under, and they had to shut down H-1 westbound for over 12 hours! The traffic situation was all over the news that night, along with video showing these poor people stuck in traffic...and going nowhere. They told stories of how people coming home from work, just finally went back to work and slept there or in their cars. It was unreal. It really showed how vulnerable the traffic situation can be here. Something has to get done about that. Oh, the end of the story...they tore down the part of the bridge that was over the westbound lanes of H-1, and now when we drive by that spot, we all see the "half bridge" thats left. A glowing reminder of our vulnerability.
Come on Hawaii!
If you are familiar with Oahu's layout, Honolulu lays on the south to southeast part of the island...with the main way in and out is H-1 (its basically an interstate...with no other state to "inter" into). We live on the leeward side of Oahu (the more dry, not so rainy west side), which means we drive eastbound on H-1 to get to Honolulu (here often referred to as "town"), then westbound on H-1 to get back home.
The traffic from about 3:30 in the afternoon until almost 7:00pm (!) is sometimes unreal. And it can get a little frustrating. During "non-traffic" times it takes us about 25 minutes to get to downtown Honolulu from our house (depending on where you are going). During the "high-traffic" times, it can take well over an hour (now for some of you in larger cities that may be no big deal, but when you live in Hawaii...things are not supposed to be so "hustle-bustle"...know what I mean?).
Now going downtown as often as I do, after a while I began to get "the hang of it"...and started figuring out how to minimize all of that traffic time (best way to minimize it is to not be on H-1 from 3:30 to 7:00...duh). And if you live here, you will begin to figure it out too (I'm not disclosing my route...if I do, my route will start to stink and I'll have to figure out another way...I know, that's selfish).
But one thing is for sure, Oahu has GOT TO DO BETTER about the traffic situation. It is something that most locals here push their local officials to "get right". And they really do need to figure something out. Case in point...a few weeks ago a tractor trailer was traveling westbound on H-1 and the top of the trailer struck a pedestrian crosswalk that went over the highway. The overpass (the concrete crosswalk) became unsafe to travel under, and they had to shut down H-1 westbound for over 12 hours! The traffic situation was all over the news that night, along with video showing these poor people stuck in traffic...and going nowhere. They told stories of how people coming home from work, just finally went back to work and slept there or in their cars. It was unreal. It really showed how vulnerable the traffic situation can be here. Something has to get done about that. Oh, the end of the story...they tore down the part of the bridge that was over the westbound lanes of H-1, and now when we drive by that spot, we all see the "half bridge" thats left. A glowing reminder of our vulnerability.
Come on Hawaii!
posted by SouthernBoyinHawaii | 8:50 AM
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