Posted on: Tuesday, June 7, 2005

Safer Waimanalo road creates parking woes

By Eloise Aguiar
Advertiser Windward O'ahu Writer

WAIMANALO — State officials have made the shoreline road through this Windward town safer but in the process has taken precious beach parking away, surprising residents this week as the project winds down.

The state Department of Transportation had been strengthening the road foundation near the Oceanic Institute, where part of the highway shoulder was falling onto the shoreline below. Kalaniana'ole Highway was realigned last year after a segment of the guardrail had hung precariously with no foundation to support it for months.

Residents agreed the $652,806 project was necessary but were not told they would lose parking along the highway next to the ocean, said Andrew Jamila Jr., a Waimanalo Neighborhood Board member.

"At no time did they say that they were going to take away the shoulder at the guardrail," Jamila said, "There's no shoulder parking for 300 yards, and every weekend that is a major destination for swimmers, surfers and fishermen."

Jamila said he has gotten numerous calls about the loss of parking.

Scott Ishikawa, spokesman for the DOT, said moving the guardrail was necessary after engineers realized that the erosion problem there was spreading.

"That area of the shoreline is eroding more quickly than previously thought," Ishikawa said, "not only at Oceanic Institute but along that entire shoreline."

Plus, he said, it didn't make sense to keep the guardrail in the same location when there was a good possibility that it would fall into the ocean.

"So for now, we moved the guardrail in to give us some time to think up a long-term solution," Ishikawa said, adding that state officials had always considered the project a short-term solution to the erosion problem.

Kawika Eckart, a Makapu'u lifeguard and lifelong Waimanalo resident, said the solution is simple: All the state needs to do is shift the lines on the highway mauka about 16 inches.

Left as it is, the situation will create a traffic hazard because people will continue to park there, and the shoulder is only about 5 feet wide, Eckart said.

For generations, surfers and fishermen have frequented that beach and parked along the highway, he said. When the waves are up, as many as 200 people are in the water. On weekends, a procession of cars cruises that end of the island, taking in the sights of the shoreline, offshore islets and majestic mountains.

"My concern is for the safety in regards to that there's no shoulder to pull on and park," Eckart said. "Also, it takes away from accessibility of that surf spot."

Ishikawa said he would take the suggestion back to the engineers to determine if it could work. In the meantime, the state is working with the Army Corps of Engineers and other agencies to create a long-term solution that might include a seawall, he said.

"I don't know how long it will be," Ishikawa said. "There's permits involved. It's not a simple process. For safety sake, we thought we'd move the guardrails in as far as we can. We apologize if there's any inconvenience for lack of parking."

Reach Eloise Aguiar at eaguiar@honoluluadvertiser.com or 234-5266.