TOD Hikimoe Street

HIKIMOE STREET REDEVELOPMENT

This project includes multimodal enhancements at the Waipahu Transit Center on Hikimoe Street to improve circulation, as well as enhanced connectivity to the Waipahu rail station and circulation within the greater TOD planning area.

The immediate project area includes Hikimoe Street between Waipahu Depot and Mokuola Streets, as well as the adjacent streets makai of the rail station including Moloalo Street and Kamehameha Highway. The project, overseen by the Department of Transportation Services with input by a larger project team, includes the following multimodal enhancements:

1. Increasing pedestrian safety and comfort

Widen the makai sidewalk on Hikimoe Street from 10 feet to 15 feet along the entire length from Waipahu Depot Street to Mokuola Street. This provides additional room for pedestrian circulation and waiting areas for bus passengers. The resulting narrowed curb-to-curb pavement width from 40 feet to 35 feet will moderate travel speeds and reduce the pedestrian crossing distance, but still provide adequate vehicle capacity.

Make various crosswalk improvements. Demolish the existing raised crosswalk on Hikimoe Street located roughly 250 feet ewa of Mokuola Street to address drainage issues, but construct a new raised crosswalk nearby. Also install a new raised crosswalk on Moloalo Street to provide a direct connection from the ewa-bound bus stop on Farrington Highway. Delineate a new crosswalk on the makai side of the Hikimoe/Mokuola Street intersection to increase connectivity and reduce exposure to vehicle traffic.

2. Updating street configurations

Re-stripe the Diamond Head half of Hikimoe Street with a 12-foot ewa-bound lane, an 11-foot diamond head-bound inside lane, and a 12-foot diamond head-bound curb lane. The curb lane will be used for bus operations only except for a short section in front of the bus stops dedicated to kiss-and-ride parking (i.e., passenger loading/unloading only). This configuration will prohibit all public parking on the mauka side of the street.

Re-stripe the Ewa half of Hikimoe Street with a 13-foot ewa-bound lane, a 14-foot diamond head-bound inside lane, and an 8-foot diamond head-bound parking lane. A portion of the makai side parking lane is dedicated to a bus layover space in advance of the transit center bus stops. This configuration prohibits all public parking on the mauka side of the street, but maintains parking on the makai side.

3. Discouraging through traffic

Locate signage at the Hikimoe Street entrance at Mokuola Street indicating “Local Traffic Only.” This signage is intended to discourage drivers who do not have a destination on Hikimoe or Kahuailani Streets from using ewa-bound Hikimoe Street. The combination of potential additional delays due to bus activity (even if infrequent) and signage should help to reduce traffic during the peak periods when some vehicles may try to use Hikimoe Street as a cut-through route to avoid ewa-bound congestion on Farrington Highway.

Enhancing cyclist safety

Striping sharrows and installing “Share the Road” signage in both directions on Hikimoe Street at the approaches near Waipahu Depot and Mokuola Streets. Sharrows are pavement markings that indicate where bicyclists should travel within the vehicle lanes, as well as raising driver awareness as to the presence of bicycles in the roadway.

5. Adapting bus stops (as needed)

Maintain all of the existing bus stop locations, but replace the shelters on the makai side of the street. As needed, install electronic reader boards near each stop to indicate the route currently being served, which allows flexibility where each bus is parked depending on its arrival time, and/or provide an additional stop on the mauka side of the street to allow for another bus. This would not eliminate any additional on-street parking spaces and would help reduce overall delays.