Since moving into the Kaka'ako neighborhood 3 years ago, we've been watching the construction at this corner of South and South King Streets as the Joint Traffic Management Center (JTMC) emerged. Just from its construction billboards announcing this structure, we were excited to see what agencies the JTMC would house or collaborate with. Well, when this center opened in January 2020, and we went to check it out as we noticed its new tenants moving in. This center's six tenants are City and State Agencies as follows.
City & County of Honolulu
Department of Transportation Services (DTS)
Honolulu Police Department (HPD)
Honolulu Fire Department (HFD)
Emergency Services Department (ESD)
Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation (HART)
State of Hawaii
Hawai'i Department of Transportation (HDOT)
The JTMC brings together both state and city agencies to focus on improving traffic management and public safety coordination on O'ahu. Led by the City's Department of Transportation Services (DTS) and Hawai'i State Department of Transportation (HDOT), this center's combination of people and automated systems can proactively manage traffic and change the traffic flow in response to or in anticipation of traffic incidents, coordinate traffic information among responders and to the public.
Although we didn't roam about the interior of the building for security reasons, we admired the architectural design of this building. We could see themes of Hawaiian tradition and Pacific voyaging and navigation themes. The overall building honors the revival and perpetuation of Hawaiian and Polynesian voyaging. The JTMC's logo is Hōkū Pa'a which translates to "North Star" can be seen on the statue fronting its South Street entrance. The Hōkū Pa'a is in the shape of a shield with 3 distinct design elements: the 7-pointed star, the Pueo (Hawaiian short-eared owl) and, trails or roadways.
I'm glad to see these six City and State Agencies put under one roof as it means that O'ahu's public daily commutes will be supported with safety and efficiency. read more