PUKALANI — Although a “strictly conceptual” plan, the Maui County Department of Transportation hopes to add Upcountry bus stops to give students and others more convenient and safer transport to and from King Kekaulike High School, the deputy director of the Transportation Department said Wednesday night.

“It’s just a proposal, nothing is set,” Michael Du Pont said during the Pukalani Community Association quarterly meeting at the Hannibal Tavares Community Center. “There’s a lot of conceptual stuff that we can do, and we’re here to get the ridership, we’re here to get the kids off the road.”

Du Pont said there are 250 to 300 King Kekaulike High students who walk to and from school every day.

“The bus service will be here to assist the kids to get to school and back home, and after games and practices, instead of walking,” said Du Pont, a longtime Pukalani resident with seven years of bus driving experience. “Our end goal is to have a bus stop outside of King Kekaulike. . . . We’re in the starting process of doing that.”

The Maui Bus Kula Islander and Upcountry Islander drive through Upcountry. Du Pont said that three added Pukalani bus stops, which will not include benches or shelters, would be located along Iolani Street, off Hanalani and Ehilani streets, and off Loha Street and Anuwanu Place.

Du Pont said a pilot project he currently is working on will “start soon.” The Upcountry stops probably will be in the second part of the pilot project. He did not give a timetable for the Pukalani stops.

“At this point in time, we can take the signs out if it doesn’t work, we can put them in if it works,” Du Pont added.

The 20 attendees at the meeting generally were supportive of the bus stops, but there were concerns about the location of the additional stops and added traffic.

“We’re not adding any service or adding another bus,” Du Pont said. “We’re using the same timings, just adding a few bus stops. . . . We’re just trying to get it out there and make it easier for the community instead of making it easier for ourselves.”

Du Pont also said that the department has launched a mobile app for riders to download so they can view bus routes and arrival times. This reduces waiting time at the bus stop and the number of people on the roadside.

For those concerned with emissions during additional idled stops, Du Pont said that buses since the 2014 model have been running on clean diesel to reduce pollution.

Du Pont said that the department will consider “adding bus pullout areas in conjunction with the Iolani (Street) repavement project,” which is part of the Pukalani Terrace Subdivision Roadway project.

Department of Public Works officials presented details Wednesday of the Pukalani roadway project, which receives federal funds and recognizes the “poor roadway conditions” throughout Pukalani neighborhoods.

“We are working to get these roadways addressed as quickly as we can,” said Wendy Kobashigawa, county engineer. “The roads are pretty bad, so our main priority is to remove the existing pavement.”

Roads that will be reconstructed include Iolani, Loha and Liholani streets, and Makani Road. There also will be intersection improvements along the four streets, such as added crosswalks and upgraded handicap curb ramps.

The project also includes repairing or replacing drain lines, sidewalks, curbs, gutters, signage and traffic loop detectors as needed; installing pavement striping and markers; and fixing the twin 11-foot diameter culverts on Liholani Street.

Kobashigawa said that the department currently is conducting topographic surveys of the streets and will begin the permit design phase shortly. The design phase is estimated to be completed by May, with construction slated to start by the end of 2020 or early 2021.

In another phase of the project, Elilani Street and Kilani Place pavement reconstruction bids will be solicited soon, Kobashigawa added. Construction is anticipated for mid-2020.

There are 15 additional roads in Pukalani being prioritized, but Iolani, Loha, and Liholani Streets and Makani Road are the only ones with determined reconstruction timetables so far.

“We really are aware of that, so we are trying to tackle one road disposition at a time,” Kobashigawa said. “We will continue to request funding. With those funds, we will prioritize the areas with worse conditions and highest traffic.”

Many in the audience were supportive of the reconstruction project, but some were concerned about where sidewalks and speed bumps fit into the equation.

“We plan to replace existing speed humps that are already there,” she said. “We don’t plan to do any road widening.”

Nolly Yagin, county traffic engineer, added that the 20 mph speed limit will remain. Speed humps are cheaper than a speed table and deter the “reasonable driver” from driving too fast.

The County Council approved $1 million for the Pukalani Terrace project in the current fiscal year budget.

Yagin added that the department plans to extend the 8-foot wide sidewalk that begins on Old Haleakala Highway (below King Kekaulike High) and bring it down through the intersections of Makawao Avenue and Loha Street and down to Pukalani Street.

The upper section is complete with the lower section in the design phase.

“We didn’t realize that sidewalks cost that much, especially in this area, so we did have to split the project into two parts,” Yagin said. “Right now, we have construction plans to be completed by January of next year.”

* Dakota Grossman can be reached at dgrossman@mauinews.com.