Kokua Line: Can we get a red-light traffic camera?

Question: Will they be installing a red-light traffic camera at the intersection of Piikoi and Lunalilo streets? The number of drivers turning left from Piikoi onto Lunalilo causing gridlock for those exiting the freeway onto Lunalilo Street westbound is outrageous. We’ve missed five signal changes on one occasion.

Answer: No, not as part of Honolulu’s two-year pilot program. However, red-light cameras were activated Wednesday three blocks makai, at the intersection of South Beretania and Piikoi streets; the automated system will generate warnings there for 30 days, then switch to tickets, according to the state Department of Transportation.

Cameras at this and other intersections were installed to deter red-light running. They generate a ticket when a car enters the intersection on a red light, not when it lingers there after entering on a yellow or green light. So cameras may not relieve the type of gridlock you describe, even at intersections where they are fully activated.

You are one of numerous readers asking whether more than the announced 10 Honolulu intersections can get the red-light cameras and suggesting intersections that need them. However, the pilot project is set.

“The 10 Red-Light Safety Camera intersections will remain as announced on Dec. 1, 2022, for the duration of the two-year pilot. When the pilot is concluded, the Hawaii Department of Transportation will provide a report and recommendations to the Legislature. Should HDOT seek and receive legislative authority to continue or expand the program, public input for additional locations would be considered along with crash history,” Shelly Kunishige, a DOT spokesperson, said in an email.

Other readers have asked whether the cameras are deterring red-light running as intended and whether ticketed motorists are generally paying the tickets. The fine is typically $97 but can be up to $200 for a first-time violation, according to the DOT website, which says 1,793 tickets have been issued at five intersections through Tuesday. Warnings are being issued at three other intersections, and cameras are due to be installed at two more.

Kunishige said in her email that the department “continues to track the number of warnings and citations issued through the pilot program. These statistics will be compared to the baseline data gathered before the Red-Light Safety Cameras were installed.”

In a follow-up phone call, she said it’s too early to gauge the cameras’ overall effectiveness and that, over time, the department is looking for fewer citations month to month at activated intersections — a decline would indicate that motorists are running fewer red lights.

She was aware of only one challenge to a ticket, which was overturned; the fine was upheld, she said.

To reiterate, “a vehicle is considered in violation of Hawai‘i Revised Statute 291C-32 if it does not stop at the stop line when faced with a traffic signal that is steady red,” according to the DOT. The cameras generate tickets only for straight-through violations, not turns, it says.

Q: You’ve mentioned the “Where’s My Refund?” tool for the IRS, at irs.gov/refunds. Is there a similar site for the state?

A: Yes, Hawaii filers can check the status of an individual state income tax refund on the Hawaii Department of Taxation’s website, after enough time has elapsed. Electronic filers can check seven to eight weeks after submitting their return, while people who mailed in a paper return should wait nine to 10 weeks, according to the DOTAX website. To check, go to tax.hawaii.gov and click on a “Where’s My Refund” icon or link.

Write to Kokua Line at Honolulu Star-Advertiser, 500 Ala Moana Blvd., Suite 7-500, Honolulu, HI 96813; call 808-529-4773; or email kokualine@staradvertiser.com.