TOM BERG'S ACCOMPLISHMENTS FOR DISTRICT 42

As the former district office manager, many constituents can testify about my commitment to serving the people with humility and getting the job done. I have a proven track record of accomplishments that have had a direct benefit to us on a daily basis. Some of them you may be familiar with such as:

EXTENSION OF LEFT-TURN LANE ACCESS TO RENTON ROAD
During the Ft. Weaver Road resurfacing project a few years back, I worked on having the Department of Transportation (DOT) incorporate into the project the extension of the left-turn lane on Ft. Weaver Road going north to access Renton Road. This extension has permitted more vehicles to get through the traffic signal.

FT. WEAVER ROAD FLOODING MITIGATED
In the past, drainage within the farm fields adjacent to Ft. Weaver Road near the bottom of the Child and Family Service Center would be insufficient to handle heavy rains and caused major backups on the roads. My meeting with all of the players involved and persistent on-site visits to offer remedy resulted in drainage being improved on private property.

FT. WEAVER ROAD SPEEDING /INCOMPLETE WIDENING
The developer had provided the necessary three lanes between Kolowaka Drive and Geiger Road at the intersections years ago which created a symptom of speeding for those drivers wanting to use that third lane to cut into traffic to “save time.” This dangerous practice led me to work on the installment of the white plastic delineator sticks to prevent this condition from happening again. Once our widening project is completed, these delineator sticks can be removed.

RENTON ROAD AT ROOSEVELT AVENUE GATE
During the Ft. Weaver Road resurfacing project, we were in desperate need of roadway connectivity to avoid the construction and some were even cutting across the OR&L Co. railroad tracks at Kapolei Parkway just to get to Renton Road. By opening access along Roosevelt Avenue to Renton Road at the gate which used to be closed by the Hawaiian Railway Society yard, our plight greatly improved. I was at the ceremonial signing with the military, city, and state officials to celebrate this achievement which to this day has proven to be crucial to our getting around within our own area.

NOTE: My next connectivity initiative is to have Keaunui Drive, currently configured to be a cul-de-sac within Ewa by Gentry, be opened up crossing the old OR&L Co. tracks to access Renton Road and Asing Park. I spearheaded this initiative with the Ewa Neighborhood Board some two years ago and my plan was supported by them as well as the developer. The state needs to allocate roughly $500,000 to accomplish the connectivity over their 40 foot right-of-way within the jurisdiction of the historic rail line to make this happen.

RENTON ROAD RIGHT TURN LANE AT FT. WEAVER ROAD
Because the motoring public travels like water taking the course of least resistance, many would try to skirt one traffic light at a time and utilize Renton Road as their escape route. This has caused frustration to those law abiding drivers who would witness motorist beeline down the right –turn lane and then cut in when the traffic signal turned green at the Ft. Weaver Road intersection. My initiation of the request for the same white plastic delineator sticks at this location has resolved the problem. My overall plan though is to have all of the delineator sticks removed by merely having the DOT extend the left-turn lane by 100 yards to create two-left turn lanes like we have at the Geiger and Kolokawa intersections with Ft. Weaver Road. The DOT stated that the cost to implement this solution would be just over half-a-million dollars. My plan is to get that feature accomplished to alleviate the major backup on Renton Road in the mornings trying to access Ft. Weaver Road headed towards the freeway.

GEIGER ROAD INTERIOR LEFT-TURN LANE TO GO STRAIGHT
I live behind the Ewa Shopping Center and a few years back, it dawned on me that in order to alleviate the backup in the afternoon rush hour along Geiger Road that would have motorist crawling through the Launahele Street traffic signal and sometimes not even getting through in one signal cycle, was to permit the left-turn lane to also go straight through to Iroquois Pt. Road. This suggestion of mine led the DOT to agree that this simple restriping procedure could resolve the problem and to this day is working out quite well.

Most recently, when coming out from community meetings at Asing Park, I noticed that the left-turn green arrow on Renton Road leaving the park was missing in order to access Ft. Weaver Road into Ewa Beach. The DOT stated I was right and the oversight to be resolved. I have built up a rapport with the engineers, field inspectors, and department directors to get results we want and need.

If elected, one of the things I will do is champion a plan to remove the traffic signal fronting the Child and Family Service complex by funding the construction of a frontage road connecting Old Ft. Weaver Road to the parking lot behind the complex which will provide direct accessibility to the site and render the crosswalk and traffic signal obsolete. This will both enhance pedestrian access to the complex and increase the flow of traffic on Ft. Weaver Road. While serving on the Ewa Neighborhood Board, I developed this “Plan B” and will pursue its realization once elected to office.

In Waipahu, my mission involves placing more cooperation with the city of which in my opinion, numerous issues have gone unabated in their jurisdiction over time and are in need of a jump start and help from the state where applicable.

Most importantly though where the state needs to pay closer attention, is that we must prepare those classrooms fronting the fixed guide way route with air conditioning in time so that when the rail rolls by every few minutes throughout instruction periods, the classrooms at Waipahu’s Intermediate and High School along Farrington Highway are not adversely affected by the noise. Most likely, when rail operations commence, the windows now left open will have to be closed- let’s be prepared for that.

It saddens me that bulky item pick up and refuse removal conditions overall in the “pupu” area have been perceived to be left to the “Wild-West” where laws and compliance are not enforced as they are in other neighborhoods. The good news is that changes can be made with the proper leadership to get these and other improvements implemented right away including painting the curbing fronting fire-hydrants restored to deter the habitual symptom of illegal parking in this area.

I have direct involvement and a long history of working on improvements with Waipahu’s Kapakahi Stream and Pouhala Marsh restoration efforts and shepherded with the late C.O. “Andy” Anderson the legislation that provided a three-to-one federal matching grant to enhance this watershed as an outdoor classroom.

I love my community and have over a decade of direct involvement improving many infrastructure features that have come to fruition that have benefited us. By serving you in the capacity of being the area representative and not the office manager, it would enhance my position and thus my ability to ensure follow through on resolving our problems. The executive branches in both the state and city have their department heads responding better to the actual elected official than staffers to get more action and better service overall with that title.

District 42 has many needs that must be met by a leader willing to roll up the sleeves and that is why I want to be your State Representative: to be the one making the calls, responding to emails, attending the meetings, and voting as the constituency dictates rather than passing the duties for research and follow up to others. It is my promise that I will work for you, work with you, and always be your voice and friend in government.