Bike plan threatens Maui trees
By Timothy Hurley
Advertiser Maui County Bureau
MAKAWAO, Maui — It's a picturesque country road that meanders around rolling pineapple fields, old plantation homes with sprawling lawns and historic churches, the ocean rarely out of view.
Timothy Hurley • The Honolulu Advertiser
From spring to early fall, travelers on Baldwin Avenue between Makawao and Pa'ia are treated to a delightful splash of color, courtesy of the shower trees that have lined the road for as long as most can remember.
A Maui County plan for bicycle lanes on Baldwin Avenue calls for removal of trees.
But a county plan to add bicycle lanes and remove as many as 100 of the trees has caused an uproar among tree lovers and those who believe that the road's charm will be compromised.
Members of the Maui Outdoor Circle and the county's Arborist Committee have joined in a public outcry over the $5 million project, prompting a Maui County Council committee to take a hard look at the plan.
"The shower trees on Baldwin Avenue are part of what makes Maui what it is,'' said Warren McCord, president of the Maui Outdoor Circle.
The county is preparing a draft environmental assessment describing a project adding two bike lanes, each about 6 feet wide, on either side of Baldwin. To address liability issues, the project may straighten some of the road's curves and install guardrails.
The project is expected to qualify for $4 million in federal construction money but will need $1 million in county money in the 2002-2003 fiscal year budget.
County Public Works Director David Goode said the intent of the proposal is to follow the county's General Plan, which calls for a countywide network of bikeways and paths, and the state Bike Plan, which designates bike lanes for Baldwin Avenue.
Goode said the project also would give the downhill bicycle tours an opportunity to get out of the road's narrow traffic lanes, which would increase safety. At least two tourists on downhill bike tours died in collisions with vehicles on Baldwin Avenue in the past 15 years.
Former Maui Planning Commission member Barbara Long said she fears for one of Maui's most beautiful byways. She predicts that once the road is widened, traffic will move faster, forcing the county to install additional guardrails, maybe speed humps and signs reminding motorists to slow down.
"It's going to be a very different roadway,'' she said.
As for the shower trees, Long said it would be a crime to lose the character they give Baldwin Avenue, and she's willing to chain herself to a tree to make a point.
The oldest shower trees were planted about 1932 under the direction of Ethel S. Baldwin with the help of the Maui Women's Club, the predecessor of the Maui Outdoor Circle. The late Mayor Hannibal Tavares added more shower trees along Baldwin Avenue in a beautification project during the 1980s.
County officials have said any trees that are removed for bike lanes will be replanted or replaced. But McCord, owner of the Kula Botanical Gardens, said shower trees of this age cannot be moved successfully.
McCord, a former planner who helped design a scenic highway in Northern California, said there's a large group of Maui residents who are unwilling to see Baldwin Avenue's mature shower trees sacrificed for saplings.
He and others are pushing for a separate bike path parallel to the roadway. That way, he said, the trees can be saved and the beauty of the scenic drive preserved.
McCord said he's examined the roadway and he's sure a separate 10-foot-wide, two-way bikeway is feasible from the Maui Veterans Cemetery in Makawao down to Holy Rosary Church in Pa'ia, covering about four-fifths of the route. He's having drawings worked up and intends to present them to Goode this week.
Walter Enomoto, co-chairman of the Mayor's Bicycle Advisory Committee, said he's skeptical a separate path is possible, given the complexities of land acquisition and other red tape. He said he's afraid it will just end up delaying the long-overdue bike lanes.
"There are just so many hoops you have to jump through,'' he said.
Enomoto said that while the concerns raised by those who promote Baldwin Avenue as a scenic byway are admirable, their point of view caters mainly to cars.
"What better way to really experience the beauty of this area than on bike or foot? Driving doesn't allow one to see and smell and touch all there is,'' he said.
Enomoto said there have been many bicycle-vehicle accidents on Baldwin Avenue and the time to increase safety is now.
Goode insists his department cares about retaining the rural character of Baldwin Avenue, and will alter the alignment to save as many trees as possible. He said an arborist will be hired to determine which trees should be replanted or replaced.
"Ultimately, we'll try to strike a balance,'' he said.
The council's Public Works Committee is expected to take up the issue during a meeting in January.
In the meantime, the Arborist Committee on Dec. 19 is expected to consider a proposal to place the Baldwin Avenue shower trees on the county's list of exceptional trees, which, if approved by the mayor and County Council, would would block their removal.
The proposal was submitted last week by Mary C. Sanford, former chairwoman of Maui Land & Pineapple Co. and granddaughter of Ethel S. Baldwin.
McCord likely will be at both meetings to remind leaders about the importance of the trees.
"Our biggest industry is tourism, and if we destroy the things that make this place unique, you're going to destroy tourism,'' he said. "If we make Maui look like (Los Angeles), people aren't going to be coming here anymore.''
Reach Timothy Hurley at thurley@honoluluadvertiser.com or (808) 244-4880.
