‘It shakes our house’: Raised crosswalks surprising drivers and rattling homes in Windward Oahu
HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) - Windward residents say a raised crosswalk meant to slow traffic along Kailua Road is ineffective and a nuisance.
Jordan Barnes’ property line is less than 10 feet away from the raised crosswalk at the intersection of Uluoa Street and Kailua Road.
“Specifically, when trucks hit that speed hump at speed, it shakes our house,” said Barnes. “And we can feel it in our house, and if we can feel it, our house can feel it.”
Barnes said the rattling mostly happens at night when drivers are less likely to see the humps before they hit them.
“When we’re watching TV, like from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. at night, we can really hear and kind of feel,” said Jeanne Lemon of Kailua. “It’s very loud, almost like thunder, and I am four houses down the street from here.”
“I can hear it a block away, which is where I live; you can almost feel it; it sounds like a freight train going over the humps,” said Ron Minton of Kailua.
The state Department of Transportation installed the safety measure in September.
Since then, Barnes noticed cracks in his home and yard. He also said the water meter outside his home burst twice in a month.
“So, the only resolution at this point would be to remove the speed hump to stop further damage,” said Barnes. “It’s very concerning; it’s something that is a great form of distress.”
HDOT officials said these concerns were first brought to their attention in February.
HDOT personnel has performed noise and vibration studies over a 17-day period and found max vibrations in the range of 0.12 inches per second. Based on the standards set by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials for evaluation of transportation-related earthborn vibrations (AASHTO R 8-96), these vibrations are within the allowable range for a residential building with plastered walls.
But Barnes said his home is 62 years old and would be considered a historic property. Therefore, the threshold is lower.
Meantime, residents said the humps just aren’t slowing drivers down.
“Trucks and vehicles still speed excessively over two speed humps,” said Barnes. “Sometimes they just speed up sometimes,” said Lemon. “They like don’t slow down at all, so it’s still hard for me to gauge.”
“People don’t know if they’re just slowing down to go over the hump or not, and they don’t realize what they’re doing is letting somebody actually cross the road,” said Minton. “And so, I’ve seen a kid almost actually come close to getting hit.”
Transportation officials said they’re committed to getting stop lights installed early next year instead of 2025.
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