2013 Meeting Highlights

President Packard introduced, member Wes Frysztacki, of Weslin Consulting Services, Inc., who spoke about the Waikiki Regional Circulator Study.  Wes explained that the study was done for the City & County of Honolulu’s Department of Transportation Services (DTS), in which former DTS Director, member Wayne Yoshioka, allocated funds through the Oahu Metropolitan Planning Organization.  Additionally, member Hong Li, conducted the traffic study in the area, and current DTS Deputy Director, member Mark Garrity, was in attendance and able to give an update on the projects current status.  Wes talked about the top 8 things that can be done to improve transit circulation in Waikiki, including: having direct services and less stops; decreasing stop time, by changing the type of fare collection and having dedicated transit stops; improving way finding; and promoting livable communities. The meeting continued with discussion open to all in attendance, and proved to be a collaborative gathering of transportation professionals.

On August 28, Bob Lottie, from Marine Corp Base Hawaii (MCBH), was the featured speaker at the monthly section meeting.  He explained that the MCBH includes not only the Kaneohe Bay location, aka. K-Bay, but also Camp H. M. Smith in Halawa and the Bellows Training Area as well.  He discussed the reduction in personnel with 1700 sailors likely to go to Whidbey, WA and Jacksonville, FL.  But by 2025, some 2700 individuals will come to Hawaii from Australia, and about 8,000 Marines will need to leave Okinawa.  Sustainability was also discussed, including metering cost and energy usage, conservation mandates, net zero homes, a wave energy test site, and a 12 megawatt solar power purchase agreement.  All new construction is certified LEED Silver, with some reaching Gold level.  Questions were welcomed, with one being about motorcycle safety.  MCBH does promote driver safety; including holding a “track day” event, however, motorcycles are popular among the younger military and safety remains an issue. 

On July 31, Director Yoshida, in the absence of the President and Vice President, called the meeting to order.  He congratulated Cathy Leong on being elected Western District Secretary-Treasurer, and reported that she attended the District Meeting , July 14-17.

Leong reported that the Western District Annual Meeting took place in Phoenix, Arizona, in which she was the only Hawaii Section member in attendance.  However, Hawaii was not forgotten, as our Section received an award for becoming a Gold Level contributor to the Student Endowment Fund.  Leong reported that the Mitey Race went well, as 30 teams competed.  The next meeting will be a Joint meeting with the Midwestern district in Rapid City, South Dakota.

Director Yoshida introduced speaker Tony Ching from the Hawaii Community Development Authority:

Mr. Ching, dressed in fluorescent yellow, explained that he was wearing the safety color as both a bicyclist and to represent the construction that’s taking place in Kakaako.  He talked about the ladder of affordable housing and how there are reserved housing categories based on qualifying income.  He presented the upcoming projects in the Kakaako Community Development District and discussed transit oriented

President Packard called the meeting to order at 11:47 am.  He welcomed attendees and thanked them for their attendance.  He recapped FY 2012 ITE Hawaii Section activities, introduced the officers, summarized finances, and announced the lifetime membership of Khal Shah.  He then recognized the past Presidents of ITE Hawaii Chapter.

Hong Li announced the results of the chapter officer’s election and administered the oath to those elected.  The officers for 2013-2014 are:

President: Mike Packard

Vice-President: Brian Gibson

Secretary: Sara Toyama

Treasurer: Robert Nehmad

Vice-President Wolfgramm introduced the speaker, ITE International President Zaki Mustafa.

Mr. Mustafa started by discussing his professional history, starting when he was a college student.  He then segued into the Active Transportation program for the City of Los Angeles.  He gave examples of bike lanes, street plazas, parklets, and discussed a proposed bike share program.  He stressed the need for flexibility and creativity in engineering rather than rejecting projects because they do not fit the standards.  He also gave a brief presentation on ITE and the benefits of membership.  He concluded by stating that ITE is where we can learn from others.  Mr. Mustafa then took a couple of questions from the audience.

President Packard announced the upcoming meetings for July and August

The meeting adjourned at 12:56 pm.

President Packard called the meeting to order at 12:00 pm.  He welcomed attendees and announced that the annual meeting will be held on Wednesday, June 19 at 11:30 pm at the offices of SSFM International.  The guest speaker will be International Vice President Zaki Mustafa.  He also noted that members should have already received their ballots for Chapter elections and should receive their District ballots on June 10.  He provided some campaign literature for two National Vice-President candidates.  He noted that Cathy Leong is running for District Secretary/Treasurer.  Then, he introduced the speaker, Kaleo Manuel with the Department of Hawaiian Homelands (DHHL).

Mr. Manuel said that DHHL has a small planning staff of five individuals, and presented information on the history of the department, which goes back to the Hawaiian Home Commission Act of 1920.  The goal of the department is to revitalize the native Hawaiian population, which was decimated following the European discovery of the islands in 1778.  DHHL is essentially a homesteading program, which was granted 200,000 acres of land on six of the eight major islands.  However, the land is often remote and difficult to access.

Mr. Manuel presented information on DHHL’s planning system, which includes:

1. The General Plan, which has a 20-year planning horizon and is updated every 10 years;
2. Strategic Program Plans, which translate the General Plan into specific action plans, and have a three to six year timeframe
3. Island Plans, which establish the land-use goals and objectives on each island, identify islandwide needs, opportunities, priorities, and DHHL land-use designations; they have a ten year planning horizon
4. Regional plans, which cover developed areas, identify data, issues, and potential projects, and are updated every two to five years
5. Development plans, which cover undeveloped areas, timing and phasing for delivering the optimum number of homestead lots, market and demand, social considerations, and environmental analysis

He noted that no cost of infrastructure is passed on to the beneficiaries, which must be of at least 50% native Hawaiian blood and be at least 18 years old.  He then presented some examples of transportation issues that DHHL deals with, such as emergency egress, access, connectivity, and complete streets implementation.

Following his presentation, Mr. Manuel took several questions from the audience.

The meeting adjourned at 12:55 pm.

President Packard called the meeting to order at 12:02 pm.  He announced the upcoming ITE and Hawaii Section elections, and provided some candidate information.  He also announced that he had some flyers regarding the Complete Streets demonstration project that is being planned for Mother’s Day (May 12, 2013) in Kaka’ako.

Vice-President Wolfgramm introduced the speaker, Kelly Cruz from the City & County of Honolulu Department of Transportation Services.

Ms. Cruz presented information on the Tyre Grip product that was recently installed on Tantalus and Round Top Drives in reaction to neighborhood complaints regarding racing, speeding, and drifting that was occurring on those roadways.  She showed a few video clips of the product being applied.  Some of the issues that occurred following installation were: 1) problems with loose gravel, 2) graffiti on the Curve Warning signs and chevrons, 3) and the community requesting removal of the additional signage.  She then took a few questions from the audience.  Ms. Cruz said the estimated lifespan of the product is about 5 years.

Ms. Cathy Leong announced the status of the ITE Western District Student Endowment Fund and that the Hawaii Section had made another donation to the fund, bringing its level of support to Gold status.

President Packard announced that the Student Chapter at the University of Hawaii at Manoa no longer had any active students, so encouraged those present to contact him if they knew of anyone who might be interested in being involved in ITE.

President Packard called the meeting to order at 12:00 pm and asked for general announcements.

Warren Yamamoto made an announcement about the upcoming HCES 2013 Engineer’s Week.

President Packard announced that it was Vice-President Wolfgramm’s 30^th birthday and presented her with a lei.  Servings of peanut butter pudding, made by Treasurer Toyama and her sister, were distributed for all to enjoy.

Vice-President Wolfgramm introduced the speaker, Peter Rosegg from the Hawaiian Electric Company (HECO).

Mr. Rosegg discussed the formation of HECO and the company’s history of heavy dependence on fossil fuels.  He then discussed the clean energy economy and the requirement of 70% clean energy by 2030. HECO is on track to meet the 2015 requirement of 15% energy from renewable sources, but meeting the 2030 requirement will get harder from here. He discussed the challenges of balancing demand for electricity and the uneven nature of renewable electricity production.  He also talked about the rising cost of oil worldwide and mentioned HECO’s firm belief that renewables will be cheaper in the future than oil.  He summed up HECO’s next steps:

1. Make rooftop solar power easier
2. Encourage energy efficiency
3. Promote electric vehicles
4. Seek 400 MW more renewable energy for Oahu; 30 MW more for Maui; 50 MW geothermal for the big island
5. Increasing biofuels and biomass
6. Evaluating liquefied natural gas to replace oil

President Packard noted that plans for the February meeting were not firm yet, but more information would be forthcoming.  The meeting adjourned at 1:10 pm.