The County Council Policy Committee on Infrastructure and Assets on Tuesday discussed amending the county code regarding no parking at any time upon certain streets or portion of streets and parking prohibited during certain hours. Bill 83 would amend and add provisions to prohibit parking at all times and adds provisions to prohibit parking at all times between the hours of 8 p.m. and 5 a.m. for certain portions of Alii Drive fronting Kahaluu Beach Park.
Deputy Director of Public Works Malia Kekai said it was a combination of police, who requested signs be erected so they could enforce the parking bans along with Parks and Recreation and citizen complaints about a surf school parking along the guardrail 24/7.
Rebecca Villegas, who represents the Council District that includes Kahaluu Beach provided some history about the issues that have been happening along Alii Drive.
“Bringing this to fruition is something I have been bringing up to parks, highways and working collaboratively with DLNR on the issues surrounding this area. This is a health and safety concern,” she said.
She said there are other issues in the area relating to parking on that side of Alii Drive with people walking in and out of the cars with no line of sight.
“We are very fortunate no one has been seriously injured through the years, but as town continues to get busier and busier, things are getting more dangerous,” Villegas continued.
She said she is hoping to find fruition to some of the protocols surrounding the surf schools in the area, but there is a history of some schools using the parking areas as essentially their business zone.
“It has created some challenges for our beach goers,” she said.
She said moving the bill forward will be a step in ensuring the health, safety and well-being of people not only enjoying the ocean and shoreline at Kahaluu but also helping those who navigate Alii Drive to avoid any potential tragedies.
“We want to do everything possible to provide the safest and healthiest streets for our community and provide equitable access to parking on Alii Drive during hours that align with park hours,” she said. “I think this is one step in a chapter of changes we hope to bring forward to continue to improve the health, safety, well being and access to this precious shoreline.”
The bill will advance to full council with unanimous positive recommendation.