Focus Groups Sought for Road Safety Action Plan

Puʻunēnē Aveune / Kūihelani Highway intersection. Photo credit: Wendy Osher

The Maui Metropolitan Planning Organization’s Vision Zero Maui team is looking for focus group participants that are currently underrepresented in its data collection to complete a lineup of road safety ambassadors sharing their experiences and comments on how to keep our Maui roads safe.

The purpose of the focus group is to eliminate data gaps and make sure to be inclusive in the research, which will have an impact in the final action plan. No more than fifteen participants may sign up for each of the following categories:

• GROUP A: Transit dependent (Maui Bus riders)
• GROUP B: Native Hawaiian, Micronesian, other Minority Groups
• GROUP C: Youth (under 30) and Seniors (60 and over)
• GROUP D: Persons with disabilities
• GROUP E: Remote districts like Hana, Napili

Meetings will be arranged once the seats have been filled and may be conducted online via Zoom. Interested participants should sign up no later than Sept. 1 on mauimpo.org/visionzeromaui.

“This is an opportunity to share your stories, suggestions and thoughts on how we can improve road safety on Maui – a goal that we can only achieve by working together as a community,” said Lauren Armstrong, executive director of Maui MPO. “Your input will help us craft an action plan that will help guide our transportation landscape for years to come.”

Vision Zero Maui launched its public engagement phase last month.  The program has been sharing information on how traffic crashes are preventable by proper road design, enforcement and policy. Most survey respondents to date have expressed concerns about the lack of bike lanes and sidewalks.

Some guide questions that will be asked include:

• How do you travel on Maui?
• What travel mode do you use most often?
• Have you personally been, or had a friend or family member, involved in a traffic-related incident or “near miss”?
• Would you be willing to share your story?
• In your opinion, which behaviors most contribute to traffic safety issues on Maui?
• What are your top infrastructure-related concerns about Maui streets?

Organizers with the Vision Zero Maui initiative say “the only acceptable number of traffic fatalities and serious injuries is ZERO.”