Kalihi residents voice traffic concerns over planned Costco gas station

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – Kalihi residents raised traffic concerns Wednesday during a neighborhood board meeting about an upcoming Costco gas station.

Read more Public Safety Power Shutoff possible as HECO monitors conditions

The monthly Kalihi-Palama Neighborhood Board Meeting, located at Kapalama Hale, invited Costco leaders, engineers, and residents to present plans for the new gas station.

Project leaders said the station, set to be built in Dillingham Plaza, will feature 40 pumps and room for 80 cars to fill up. The dispensers will be spaced 28 feet apart, with 32 feet of spacing between islands.

In contrast, the current Costco gas station located on Alakawa Street in Iwilei has 24 fueling pumps.

The new station will include a red light, green light system at the top of each dispenser to show members which pumps are available.

Construction would start by next summer and end by December 2027.

Kalihi residents said the new facility would cause traffic problems on Dillingham Boulevard, which already experiences congestion.

“Traffic was bad enough before the rail came down,” said one female resident, referring to the city’s Skyline system. “With them tearing down our units pretty soon, traffic will even get worse.”

The woman said that adults and children who live nearby are opposed to the idea. “Has anybody thought about the kids? I don’t think so,” she said.

Engineers address traffic, accessibility concerns

Matt Nakamoto, the project’s chief transportation engineer, responded to traffic concerns.

Read more Shipping container fire extinguished in downtown Honolulu

“The station is actually quite large,” he said. “What we’re trying to do is to fix the problem by creating a greater supply, so that it won’t be over capacity.”

Nakamoto added that adding another location is intended to provide another option for residents fueling up.

“Eventually, if there’s enough, then people are not overloading that one location,” he said. “It’s not necessarily the traffic volume that’s the problem. It’s really the amount of demand that we have.”

Craig Luke, project manager at engineering consultant firm R.M. Towill Corporation, said construction will likely not interfere with traffic.

“We anticipate little, if none, no interference,” said Luke.

Resident Diosa Mae asked why the project was happening now and whether they could wait until a time when congestion is not an issue.

Jenifer Murillo, director of real estate at Costco, said the urgency in the project lies in the long lines at the existing location in Iwilei.

“We are trying to get this going faster, best as possible, and we really don’t know the timing of the rail,” said Murillo. “It’s our goal to get this open for our members because it’s something they’ve been asking for some sort of time.”

The new station would offer only gas services.

It is set to occupy a site in Dillingham Plaza, formerly home to fast-food eateries Sizzler, Burger King, and Popeye’s.

Read more Firefighters extinguish shipping container fire in downtown Honolulu

The effort is part of Kamehameha Schools’ plan to redevelop the plaza.