Hawaii-2020-HCR85-Introduced

WHEREAS, the American Society of Civil Engineers' 2019 Hawaii Infrastructure Report Card gave Hawaii's roadways a D+ rating, and the Reason Foundation's Annual Highway Report ranked Hawaii forty-seventh in the nation for highway performance and cost—effectiveness; and

WHEREAS, Hawaii's transportation system currently consists of nearly ten thousand lane miles that are managed and maintained by the State, the counties, or private owners; and

WHEREAS, currently, there exist multiple telephone numbers for members of the public to report road-related issues to the State and the counties, and there is no readily available compilation of private owners' contact information for reporting issues on privately owned roads; and

WHEREAS, the City and County of Honolulu publishes three different telephone numbers for pothole reporting and a person wishing to make a report must first determine whether the road in question is maintained by the State, a county, the Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation, or a private owner; and

WHEREAS, the City and County of Honolulu has an online reporting tool for roads that it maintains, but the City and County does not respond to reports involving roads outside of its jurisdiction and does not provide information about the ownership of these roads or the appropriate party to contact; and

WHEREAS, uncertainty about road ownership may prevent members of the public from promptly reporting potentially hazardous road conditions, which may in turn prevent timely responses to road hazards and lead to an increase in traffic accidents; and

WHEREAS, Hawaii residents already rely on the Department of Transportation to determine road ownership and coordinate repairs, but existing reporting methods heavily burden residents by requiring them to first determine the appropriate entity to contact for road management; and

WHEREAS, the public is more likely to report hazardous or potentially hazardous road conditions if there exists an easy and efficient way to do so; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Thirtieth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2020, the Senate concurring, that the Department of Transportation is requested to establish a dedicated twenty-four-hour hotline for members of the public to report hazardous or potentially hazardous road conditions, including potholes; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Department of Transportation consider the following criteria when establishing the hotline:

(1) That the hotline telephone number be easy for the public to locate on the Department of Transportation's website and easy to remember;

(2) That the hotline be available twenty-four-hours a day, seven days a week, including state holidays;

(3) That the hotline function as a clearinghouse for all telephone calls regarding hazardous or potentially hazardous road conditions, regardless of whether the road is owned by the State, a county, or a private entity; and

(4) That all road conditions reported to the hotline be promptly forwarded to the appropriate entity for processing and resolution; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Department of Transportation is requested to submit an annual report to the Legislature that includes the number of telephone calls received by the hotline and the disposition of each issue reported to the hotline, no later than twenty days prior to the convening of each Regular Session, beginning with the Regular Session of 2021, and to make the reports available on the Department's official website; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Director of Transportation; respective Mayors of the Counties of Hawaii, Maui, Kauai, and the City and County of Honolulu; Director of Public Works of the County of Hawaii; Director of Transportation of the County of Maui; Executive of Transportation of the County of Kauai; and Director of Transportation Services of the City and County of Honolulu.

	OFFERED BY:	_____________________________

Report Title:

Department of Transportation; Road Hazard Hotline

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES	H.C.R. NO.	85
THIRTIETH LEGISLATURE, 2020
STATE OF HAWAII