“$11 million is money well spent as far as I’m concerned,” he said. Fuchigami estimated it would cost about $11 million to completely replace both machines.
#HONOLULU TRAFFIC ALERT UPGRADE#
In the case of the CPUs that broke Tuesday, officials explained the state doesn’t have back-ups because the products have a 2-year battery life and the manufacturer recommends against keeping extra CPUs on hand.įuchigami from DOT said in a press conference that the agency is reviewing whether to upgrade the ZipMobiles or replace them altogether.īoth of Honolulu’s ZipMobiles are 15 years old, and only have a lifespan of 20 years. But officials were able to swap out parts between the machines to get rid of the zipper lane and the traffic impact wasn’t as bad. In January 2014, the machines had mechanical problems and the state had to order an extra part from the mainland. “The promise that we’re making to you is we’re going to communicate earlier, sooner and more effectively,” said Michael Formby, who leads the city’s Department of Transportation Services.īut it’s not the first time both of the state’s ZipMobiles have broken. The state and city allowed salaried employees to leave work three hours early to beat traffic, and the state fixed the zipper lane by 4 p.m. Matt LoPresti are trying to get the tickets dismissed.īoth city and state officials improved public communication on Wednesday, sending frequent traffic notifications.
The department said that it ended enforcement when officials were notified of the extent of the traffic jam.
#HONOLULU TRAFFIC ALERT DRIVERS#
to notify drivers that a shoulder lane was open to those heading westbound. None of them used the popular hashtag #hitraffic that residents click on to figure out what’s happening on the city’s roads.Īnd while residents trapped in their cars desperately checked their phones for traffic update, Honolulu police ticketed 65 people on Waimano Home Road alone on Tuesday afternoon in a planned effort to enforce the state law against using a cell phone while driving. The first of just three tweets came at 3:21 p.m. While motorists took to Twitter to rage about the traffic and the lack of notifications from the city and state, the state Department of Transportation’s account was mostly silent. The city’s emergency alert system, Nixle, which the police department uses to notify drivers about traffic accidents and road closures, didn’t send its first message until 4:17 p.m. and held an afternoon news conference, that wasn’t enough to get the word out to residents commuting to the west side after work Tuesday. “Yesterday was kind of a perfect storm in terms of everything falling apart.”Īlthough the state Transportation Department sent out news releases at 10:25 a.m., noon and 2:30 p.m.
“The timing was just unbelievable,” said DOT Director Ford Fuchigami said at a press conference Wednesday, explaining Sakahara’s absence and promising to do better next time. On top of that, with the Department of Transportation’s public information officer Tim Sakahara on vacation, the agency didn’t do enough to notify residents of the impending traffic problems.
The traffic jam also underscored the consequences of Honolulu’s pattern of approving housing developments without ensuring there is adequate transportation infrastructure in place.
Cars head westbound on H1 with freeway widening project on March 19.
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