FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                                    
November 20, 2007

City rolls out improved “drive akamai”

traffic information website

            Mayor Mufi Hannemann and City officials today announced the next generation of the DriveAkamai.org website.

            Mayor Hannemann said, “The public is well aware of the tremendous amount of infrastructure work this administration is doing, but the side-effect is traffic congestion. In anticipation, the City has spent several months upgrading the driveakamai.org website to inform the public and minimize the impact of this work on motorists.”

            The enhanced website is fueled with the latest technology and gives the motoring public alerts, advisories, and traffic cameras on an interactive map to help avoid areas where road construction is taking place in downtown Honolulu.

            Users can zoom in to a specific traffic corridor or pan to capture the route they are planning to take.  With a few mouse clicks from this single location, anyone driving in Honolulu can see road closures, alerts, and live traffic cameras.  Other features include an automatic email alert, comment form and links to other City departments if the issue is not related to road construction.

            Drive Akamai provides reports on lane closures due to major construction projects occurring within the boundaries of Liliha Street on the Ewa side and Kapahulu Avenue on the Koko Head side, and the H-1 Freeway and south shore on the mauka and makai sides, respectively.  The information is updated daily.

            In addition, the City and Board of Water Supply have suspended the sewer and water work on Kapiolani Boulevard, Atkinson Drive, and Kamakee Street for the holidays.  Construction will resume in January.

            Drive Akamai will not include reports on daily rush-hour traffic, such emergencies as traffic accidents or utility problems, and special events like parades.

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Contact:

Bill Brennan, 527-6928