"I'm just kind of waiting and seeing if it will affect us. If it does affect us, we will be totally against it," Paul Lu'uwai, a coach for Hawaiian Canoe Club, said to The Maui News.

"We've been told it's not going to have an impact on us, and that's what we are relying on right now," club president Dave Ward said. "Only time will tell."

At least one canoe paddler has made up her mind.

Margie Kawaiaea is "against" the ferry, saying there are concerns over more traffic around the harbor, the ferry's potential speed affecting marine life and the additional people carried by the ferry to Maui.

The Hawaiian and Na Kai 'Ewalu canoe clubs at the harbor are not the only ones that could be affected, with as many as 1,700 people and their cars arriving and departing at the harbor daily. Nearby businesses and roadways would need to deal with additional foot and vehicle traffic.

At Kahului Shopping Center and Maui Mall, A&B Properties officials said they have not adjusted operations or procedures because of the incoming ferry.

Grant Chun, vice president on Maui for A&B Properties, said the company has measures in place to monitor parking activity at the two shopping complexes.

Security personnel patrol the parking lots and will cite and tow vehicles that are parked in their lot after hours.

The Hawai'i Superferry and state Department of Transportation are not providing any public parking for ferry passengers. Departing passengers will need to be dropped off at the ferry terminal at Pu'unene and Ka'ahumanu avenues. The parking lots at the Maui Mall and old Kahului Shopping Center could tempt Maui passengers to leave their vehicles at the malls.

"We do not anticipate any particular issues with the start of the service of the Superferry, but expect that our standard policies would serve to address any issues that may come up," Chun said.

But he said the company might negotiate with the Hawai'i Superferry to provide parking for its passengers.

"Once service has begun, should it be determined that there is an actual demand for parking, our staff is looking at the possibility of working with the Superferry to accommodate for some parking at the Kahului Shopping Center," he said.

Last week, Kawaiaea reminisced of the days when she used to take her one-person canoe and paddle to Maliko Gulch and back to the Kahului Harbor. In those days, the harbor was empty and "you had room to play."

Now the Alakai will dock at Pier 2 daily, near where the canoe paddlers practice. The Coast Guard has ordered a 100-yard security zone around the ferry whenever it is in port or navigating around the harbor, which will be between 9:30 and 11 a.m. daily.

The 350-foot double-hulled vessel has a capacity of 866 passengers and 282 cars or a mix of 65 cars and 28 40-foot freight trucks.

Kawaiaea said she knows the ferry is part of progress, but asked, "Why here?"

Traffic along Ka'ahumanu Avenue already is heavy through the day, she said. With its capacity of more than 200 vehicles, the ferry could be drawing more than 400 vehicles coming and going at Kahului Harbor daily.

"This is like icing on the cake, then what, another (ferry) in the evening, another one in the midday?" she said.

While Kawaiaea acknowledged that the ferry might be a good travel option for some, she said she's not going to ride it.

Ward said it should be business as usual for other harbor users with the ferry service under way, although it will be another ship for which canoe paddlers have to look out.

Paddlers will respect the 100-yard security zone for the ferry when it is docked and is approaching the harbor, he said. When ships are in the harbor turning basin in the middle of their canoe paddling course, the canoes leave the area.

Ward said Hawaiian Canoe Club has not made any adjustments to its practice schedules, programs or future regattas because of the ferry.

The club is participating in the development of the Kahului Harbor 2030 Master Plan to ensure the canoe clubs have input on future development in and around the harbor, he said.

While Lu'uwai shared Ward's attitude of waiting to see what happens, he said he wonders if the ferry will affect traffic around the harbor and can only hope that the ferry will not affect the canoe club's Hawaiian programs. Lu'uwai is the coach for the Hawaiian Canoe Club keiki development program, which seeks to instruct youngsters in Hawaiian culture and traditions as well as in developing them as canoe paddlers.

"We are all using the harbor, we like to think we are working all together," he said.