Hawaii Chronicles III: World War Two in Hawaii from the Pages of Paradise of the Pacific

Planning Honolulu: A Study

Planning Honolulu: A Study PHILIP FISK, ALLEN JOHNSON, JAMES MORRISON, VLADIMIR OSSIPOFF, AND ALFRED PREIS A. I. A. ARCHITECTS E Ethnographically and climatically, Honolulu has affinities with all countries and nations bordering the Pacific Ocean; geographically, it is their center.Air transportation brings these countries closer to Honolulu than to each other, with traveling time reduced to hours. These conditions and Honolulu’s own charm and beauty predestine this city as a recreational as well as a cultural-educational meeting place for the entire Pacific Area. The strategic position of Honolulu in war-time remains strategic in times of peace. The role Honolulu is playing in winning this war can be carried on to perpetuate a lasting peace. Honolulu can serve not only as the communication and administration center but as the site of a “Pacific” Memorial for expositions and festivals and as a forum for the development and exchange of ideas pertaining to peaceful, human relations and for making these the subject of scientific inquiry. 1. Cross island arterial from Keehi lagoon airport in direct line with Middle Street and the Kalihi Tunnel. 2. Kapalama Basin development continued with industrialization of surrounding areas, including Sand Island and lands makai of Dillingham Boulevard and Kamehameha Highway. The land mauka of the boulevard reserved for housing with Moanalua Gardens and Salt Lake as recreational areas. 3. Farrington High School, Bishop Museum, and Kamehameha Field Grounds retained, to form the community center of the Kalihi area, without being dissected by the Vineyard Street Extension. 234 First published January 1945. 4. Residential areas, redesigned so as to provide safe play areas, integrated with existing school grounds, forming neighborhood centers for educational, cultural, social, and recreational activities. 5. Mauka arterial traffic, carried as “one-way traffic,” from the Kapalama Drainage Canal to the Waialae Golf Course via Vineyard, Captain Cook, Lunalilo, Bingham, King, Harding; and back via Waialae, Moiliili, Wilder, Prospect, Iolani into School, eliminating expensive condemnation and street widening required by “two-way” arterials. One-way streets are more easily crossed and require minimum traffic control. 6. Makai arterial passenger traffic from Pearl Harbor by-passes downtown via a new road of a traffic capacity equal to Dillingham Boulevard around the O.R.&L. terminal, completely separated from North King, Beretania, and Hotel feeder traffic; splits into one-way traffic each on Queen and Halekauwila Streets and unites again in a new street leading directly into Kapiolani Boulevard. At Kalakaua Avenue, a grade separation permits traffic to continue uninterruptedly on Kapiolani or Ala Wai Boulevards or Kalakaua Avenue, offering a solution for expected increased tourist traffic to Waikiki and to the new Yacht Basin and Ala Moana Beach development. Continuous and distinct horizontal separation of heavy cargo and service traffic from passenger traffic maintained from Pearl Harbor to the Ala Wai. 7.Development of Nuuanu Stream as a parkway,with one-way traffic on each side, forming a mauka-makai arterial, ewa of the downtown area and leading into Nuuanu Avenue at Bates Street. 8. Commercial redevelopment, general rehabilitation of the downtown area, and prevention of inorganic decentralization of business through: (a) Reduction of traffic pressure by arterial routing. (b) The encouragement of traffic flow by a complete one-way system , thus relieving congestion. (c) Elimination of vehicle traffic on King Street between Richards and Nuuanu,creating ideal conditions for a pedestrian shopping area with parking and loading facilities available from adjacent streets. (d) Creation of adequate off-street parking facilities. (e) The revision of the tax system to discourage the perpetuation of blighted structures. War!—1945 235 (f) Rezoning of business districts along through-traffic streets in order to create organic neighborhood shopping centers, planned for concentric growth. (g) Functional and visual integration with the Civic Center. 9. Civic Center—See detailed drawing. 10. The diversion of ewa-bound traffic on Kapiolani arterial into one-way Queen and Halekauwila Streets prevents the discharge of high density traffic into low capacity streets of downtown. 11. Punchbowl, with a green, a lake, an amphitheater, an auditorium , and buildings representing other nations, is proposed as the seat for the memorial as described in the introduction. 12. Development of a hotel and apartment area near downtown business-center, administrative center, cultural center, and new beach development. 13. Beach development through the intregation of Waikiki with the reclaimed Moana Peninsula and through the incorporation of Fort de Russy as a service men’s recreational area.The...