Planning firm hired for Lihu'e
By Jan TenBruggencate
Advertiser Kaua'i Bureau
LIHU'E, Kaua'i — The county planning department hopes to develop an urban-design scheme for the Kaua'i county seat during the next year.
The county has hired the planning firm PBR Hawai'i to develop its new Lihu'e Town Urban Design Plan, which it hopes will help renew and revitalize the island's main town. The planning effort will try to make the area work better and will develop a theme for the community, said Gary Hennigh, deputy planning director.
Lihu'e is a community pulled in many directions. Three decades ago, its main government, commercial and shopping facilities were centered within a couple of blocks of the junction of Rice Street, Kuhio Highway and Kaumuali'i Highway, with Lihu'e Plantation's mill — the reason for the town's existence — alongside.
Today, the mill and plantation are closed. The island's main shopping complex is now a half-mile away, and the old shopping center is a sprawling county office complex. The police station has moved to the fringes of town, and the courts will soon follow.
What's left of "downtown" is often congested with traffic and is chronically short of parking — partly because the county has wiped out roadside parking to widen Rice Street from two to four lanes. As a result, the development of a downtown parking facility is one of the options under consideration.
The county needs to make its main town work, said Mayor Bryan Baptiste.
"Most of the major industries and services are located in Lihu'e," he said. "A significant component of understanding and managing Kaua'i's future growth and development involves the building of Lihu'e as the central service component for the entire island."
The county hopes to have the project under way this summer and complete by the middle of next year. The county will name a citizens advisory committee to help guide the process.
"Throughout this process, we want community input and feedback," Baptiste said. "We want Lihu'e, the 'heart' of Kaua'i, to truly represent the ideas of the people."
Reach Jan TenBruggencate at jant@honoluluadvertiser.com or (808) 245-3074.
