Posted on: Tuesday, November 9, 2004
Could shuttles ease Haleakala sunrise traffic?
By Timothy Hurley
Advertiser Maui County Bureau
A bus shuttle is among the proposals being considered to reduce traffic congestion at Haleakala National Park.
Tomorrow's meeting to allow the public to help refine the transportation proposals will begin at 7 p.m. at the Mayor Hannibal Tavares Community Center in Pukalani. For more information, see the park's Web site at www.nps.gov/hale. To comment on the plan, call (808) 572-4400. As proposed, the bus shuttle would operate from a staging area — or areas — outside the park and carry passengers up the mountain to the 10,000-foot summit.
The proposed shuttle plan would eliminate some or all private vehicles from the park during peak hours from sunrise to midmorning. Also proposed are redesigned viewing areas and reconfigured parking lots to accommodate the buses.
Work on the $325,000 transportation plan began a year and a half ago after traffic congestion was identified as a growing problem at Haleakala, especially during the popular sunrise viewing.
More than 1.6 million people visited Haleakala last year and it appears the park will exceed that number this year, said park superintendent Don Reeser.
While doing research for the environmental assessment, contractors counted up to 27 bicycle tour vans and more than 100 other vehicles parked at the Haleakala Visitor Center and Red Hill near the summit. An estimated 590 people were at the visitor center and 225 people at the Red Hill area at sunrise.
According to a survey, more than one in five visitors to the visitor center before 8 a.m. felt moderately or more crowded, and more than one-third of the visitors before 8 a.m. saw more people than they think the park should allow. The highest volume of traffic — 94 vehicles in one hour — entered the park between 3:30 and 4:30 a.m. on July 12.
In meetings with Native Hawaiian groups, elders indicated that they felt that the sacredness of the Haleakala summit area is diminished by too many people visiting the site, and that opportunities to conduct cultural practices in peace are limited.
Most bike tour customers responded that they enjoyed their visit, but 48 percent said the number of people at viewing areas is a small problem and 9 percent said it is a big problem.
Other transportation alternatives include management changes aimed at spreading traffic over the day and limiting use during peak times. Also proposed are new roadway pullouts and larger viewing areas at the summit, plus some new trails and picnic areas.
Reach Timothy Hurley at thurley@honoluluadvertiser.com or (808) 244-4880.
A meeting will be held tomorrow to discuss proposed transportation alternatives as park contractors prepare an environmental assessment in conjunction with the Summit Area Transportation Management Plan covering the 11-mile portion of the Haleakala Highway corridor within the park.
Public meeting
