In a year when a cluster of fatalities brought pedestrian safety to the forefront, two more deaths this week make it clear more needs to be done, advocates say.

Yesterday's death of 97-year-old Sunao Konishi shows "people are doing what they can, but clearly we need to step up the effort," said Barbara Kim Stanton, executive director of AARP-Hawai'i. "This is the most dangerous place in America to be a pedestrian over the age of 65."

Police vehicular homicide investigator Sgt. Michael Brede Jr. said the man was crossing Kona Street, 88 feet west of Ke'eaumoku Street, at 8:42 a.m. when he was struck by a 1999 Chevrolet van driven by a 71-year-old man.

The pedestrian was not crossing in a marked crosswalk, Brede said, and he was pronounced dead at 10:15 a.m. The van driver was not injured. Speed and alcohol do not appear to be contributing factors, Brede said.

Colleen Larson, a supervisor at the Ala Moana Post Office, was crossing Kona Street when she saw Konishi crossing midblock in front of the Bank of Hawaii.

She could see that the van wasn't stopping and neither was the elderly pedestrian.

"He went to run and I yelled at him," she said. "The driver didn't see him. He got hit by the van and his leg was pinned under the van."

Larson stayed with the victim while they waited for an ambulance and tried to keep him from drifting into unconsciousness. He died soon after being transported to The Queen's Medical Center.

While the pedestrian hadn't been crossing at a crosswalk, he was headed toward a break in the concrete median.

Konishi's death follows another fatality on Sunday, when a man struck in Mo'ili'ili put the number of pedestrian deaths on public roadways on par with 2006.

The push for safety this year has been intense.

AARP has done its own campaigning for pedestrian safety improvements, while the city and state have ramped up public education and promised more physical improvements.

Yesterday's accident, which occurred on Ala Moana Center property, came amid a Honolulu Police Department effort to promote pedestrian safety near shopping centers.

"It's so sad that there have been a lot of elderly victims, and that in and of itself is really sad. You have to be careful," said Honolulu police Maj. Susan Dowsett, head of the HPD traffic detail.

"Honolulu is a crowded place and there are a lot of people rushing back and forth, especially during the holidays. Drivers and pedestrians need to be especially aware of each other and share the road."

Officers were on Kapi'olani Boulevard yesterday morning spreading that message while a block away other officers closed off Kona Street in front of Bank of Hawaii, to determine why Konishi was hit by the 1999 Chevy van.

Police say that more than half of the pedestrians killed this year, like Konishi, were not crossing at crosswalks.

Because Konishi was struck down on a private road, his death will not be counted in the official tally of pedestrians killed on O'ahu's public roadways, which stands at 20, the same as in all of last year.

At least five other people have died in pedestrian fatalities on private property this year, according to data compiled by The Advertiser.

Efforts to address the problem have not been without controversy this year. For example, a debate erupted about how to spend money approved by the Legislature to fund crosswalk improvements at the most dangerous crosswalks identified by AARP.

Gov. Linda Lingle has refused to release the money, and her stance has not changed, according to her spokesman Russell Pang.

However, the governor and the state Department of Transportation have said they have $18.5 million in state and federal money that will fund crosswalk restriping, crosswalk timers and brighter LED traffic signals, among other pedestrian safety improvements.

The state has announced it will spend $2 million to install 600 new countdown crosswalk timers at intersections around O'ahu by 2011 in an effort to reduce a troubling rash of pedestrian traffic fatalities.

The work will begin with 90 timers along Ala Moana boulevard, from Fort Street to Pi'ikoi Street, as soon as repaving is completed there next spring.

The city, meanwhile, is planning pilot safety improvements that should make two of O'ahu's most dangerous sidewalks more visible Ð either with lights hanging overhead or with lights imbedded into the street.

Enforcement is also part of the plan. So far this year, the Honolulu Police Department has issued 8,922 crosswalk violation citations, about 1,600 to drivers, and issued 8,421 warnings, police said.

Reach Treena Shapiro at tshapiro@honoluluadvertiser.com and Peter Boylan at pboylan@honoluluadvertiser.com.

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