Turtle Traffic
Traffic caused by turtle-viewing pedestrians and rubber necking at Laniakea backs up the North Shore’s only highway and disrupts residents’ daily lives.
Visitors (who are misled to believe that Laniakea is an official turtle viewing spot) stop, park, and cross the road at Laniakea which creates a bottleneck of traffic on the North Shore.
Without sidewalks or a shoulder lane, pedestrians walk too close to the cars, causing dangerous conditions.
Pedestrians cross the highway randomly which has resulted in car accidents.
There is no space on the ocean side of the highway for pedestrians to safely wait even if crosswalks were to be installed.
Many visitors park their cars in front of houses blocking the visibility of residents’ driveways.
The traffic became so bad that the Laniakea Task Force was formed in 2012 to attempt to solve the problem, and in 2014, the state proposed spending $65million on a highway realignment.
All so that tourists can continue
to view turtles at Laniakea.
