Draft plan prioritizes multimodal streets and mass transit goal but raises questions about state road projects

HILO/KONA — The Planning Department’s transportation presentation on Sept. 23 described a multimodal approach — prioritizing pedestrians, transit and bicycles over automobiles — and included a roadway map that combines county proposals with older planning maps used to guide long‑range connections.

Bethany Morrison said the draft’s transportation goal is to ensure communities are “connected by a multimodal and modernized transportation network” that supports safe and efficient movement of people and goods. The draft lists objectives and policies to increase transit ridership, improve active‑travel corridors, reduce vehicle miles traveled and incorporate green infrastructure into roadway drainage designs.

Highlights and targets Planners presented a multimodal hierarchy that places pedestrians and transit at the top and described a target to increase mass transit ridership by 50% by 2045 (the target aligns with the county’s mass transit master plan). The draft also calls for adopting the County Street Design Manual (complete streets) and for prioritizing transit and paratransit access to town centers, employment hubs, airports and educational institutions.

Roadway map origins and jurisdictional questions The session focused on a county roadway map that includes proposed road segments drawn from multiple historical sources. Councilmembers noted the map contains segments drawn from an older City of Hilo zone map (adopted in 1968 and amended over time) and from the 2005 general plan. Councilmember Hughes and others asked why some long‑standing proposed segments remain on the map and whether the state Department of Transportation (HDOT) intends to widen or add capacity to state highways.

Director Jeff Darrow and Morrison said the map compiles many sources: city zone maps, the 2005 general plan and state project lists. Darrow told the committee the city/Hilo map has been amended multiple times since the late 1960s; Morrison said the department had checked with Public Works and used HDOT plans where available. She also said county planners removed some proposed alignments that would cross Department of Hawaiian Home Lands parcels pending further consultation.

Council discussion and constraints Councilmembers questioned whether showing older proposed state roadway segments risks creating expectations that HDOT will fund or build them; staff said many state highways are outside county jurisdiction and that HDOT’s current priorities do not necessarily include capacity expansion on all existing state routes. Members urged the county to prioritize a short list of projects where county investments or partnerships can actually deliver benefits.

Planners framed the map as a long‑range guide rather than an immediate construction schedule, and invited councilmembers to propose map amendments and priorities that staff can analyze further.