Brennon Morioka, deputy director of the state Department of Transportation, highlighted the $18.5 million in pedestrian safety spending after criticism that Gov. Linda Lingle is holding up $3 million in pedestrian-safety projects approved by the Legislature.

The AARP, an advocacy group for people 50 and over, questioned whether the $18.5 million in spending will be as effective as the $3 million authorized by the Legislature that Lingle blocked.

The $3 million was to be spent on improving the 50 most dangerous intersections for pedestrians, whereas the $18.5 million will go for improvements at locations where road construction was already planned, according to the AARP.

The administration doesn't debate the value in the AARP's request but said it doesn't want to use the additional $3 million because the law is written in such a way that the highway funds can't be leveraged to get a federal match, Morioka said.

While the Legislature can decide where to appropriate funds, the governor has the power to withhold or release the money.

"We did not think it was appropriate to do additional pedestrian-safety improvements out of the highway funds when we already have a program over the next biennium of more than $17 million in crosswalk improvements," Morioka said.

That figure does not include another $7 million in maintenance work, such as restriping of crosswalks, sign replacements and lane markings.

"If there is money, we don't think it addresses what (the $3 million) ... was designed to do, which addresses the most critical intersections of all, where pedestrians are being hurt, being killed," said Barbara Kim Stanton, AARP Hawaii's director.

She said the state is focusing its efforts where the roads are deteriorating, rather than targeting areas where pedestrians are getting hurt.

"When you repave, you have to repaint the crosswalks," she said. "As far as the order of priorities, the pothole problem takes precedence."

Stanton said planned work on roadways such as Ala Moana and Fort Weaver Road don't necessarily align with the AARP's view.

"We're happy with any improvement, but this (the $3 million plan) is actually a very pivotal piece. It addresses the heart of the problem," Stanton said.

She worries that much of the already-budgeted money will be for projects aimed at vehicles, not pedestrians, like making it easier to make right turns or to make aesthetic improvements.

Sen. Roz Baker, chairwoman of the Ways and Means Committee, says that the money she has seen in the budget is not specifically aimed at the kinds of things the Legislature intended.

The Department of Transportation's base budget did not include the money that would provide quick fixes at the critical intersections, Baker said, noting the department did not ask for anything new for pedestrian safety.

"If they thought all these projects were funded, they would not, I think, have supported this bill," said Baker, who noted that the administration supported the bill up until the Legislature decided to fund it from the highway fund.

"It's clear the community wants these projects to move forward," Baker said. "In the interest of safety ... the DOT should step up the efforts."

She added, "Trying to come up with all these other reasons not to fund the bill is just baffling to me."

Reach Treena Shapiro at tshapiro@honoluluadvertiser.com.