Kaua’i County officials are moving ahead with the second phase of a proposed 23-mile coastline pedestrian and bicycle pathway from Nawiliwili Harbor to Anahola. The Kaua’i County Planning Commission closed a public hearing on Nov. 25 on the county’s request
Kaua’i County officials are moving ahead with the second phase of a proposed 23-mile coastline pedestrian and bicycle pathway from Nawiliwili Harbor to Anahola.
The Kaua’i County Planning Commission closed a public hearing on Nov. 25 on the county’s request for a Special Management Area permit for the second phase, a 4.3 mile section from Lihi Park in Kapa’a town to Ahihi Point in Kealia, according to Doug Haigh, a spokesman for the Public Works Department.
The county is waiting for a decision from the commission on its request, and if all goes well, will be seeking a Conservation District Use Application permit from the board of the Department of Land and Natural Resources, Haigh said.
The county issued a “finding of no significant impacts” for its environmental assessment, which has been reviewed by the state Office of Environmental Quality Control on O’ahu.
Progress in this second phase will move the county closer to its goal of completing the entire 23-mile bicycle and pedestrian pathway, Haigh said.
The entire project would greatly enhance recreational needs in the Kawaihau District, the largest population area on the island, county officials have said.
The project was first advocated by Mayor Bryan Baptiste when he sat on the Kauai County Council in the late 1990s. The project also drew strong support from council chairman Kaipo Asing and John Tanner, owner of the Bicycle John in Lihu’e.
“We are in the middle of design and the building procurement process,” Haigh said of work on the second phase. “We are planning on receiving final approvals in March (2004), and hope to award a contract in April.”
The 12-foot-wide pathway involves improving an existing asphalt road, a former cane haul road and a former cane haul bridge on the coastline.
Pavilions, comfort stations and park areas at Lihi Park and at Kealia Beach Park are planned along the proposed 4.3-mile pathway.
A comfort station also is proposed at a parking lot by a shoreline access through the Kealia Kai subdivision. A new parking area and rest area also are to be developed near the Kealia Lookout.
The 4.3-mile project is to be developed at an estimated cost of $7 million, mostly with federal funds.
Additional funds came with the help of U.S. Sen. Daniel Inouye (D-Hawai’i), who secured a $300,000 federal grant for an environmental assessment and environmental permitting, Haigh has said.
The other phases of the project include:
E.W. Moody, a Las Vegas-based landowner, had proposed an upper-end residential project on his property. He also proposed to develop a bicycle path within his project and to maintain the improvement, Haigh said.
“Moody originally was supportive of the bicycle path and had his own ideas as to how the bicycle path should be,” Haigh said. “We hoped to have a mutual agreement on what is best, and we definitely will include him in the process.”
- A fifth phase would run from Nawiliwili Harbor to Ahukini, a distance of about 8 miles. Parts of the pathway would take bicyclists to Lihu’e town and back to the Nawiliwili area, Haigh said.
- The sixth phase would run from Kuna Bay to Anahola, a distance of about 3 miles.
The entire project would be developed at an estimated cost of as much as $30 million, with funding coming mostly from the federal government, county officials have said.
The project has come under criticism by Kapa’a resident Glenn Mickens, who said the funds should be re-allocated to build more roads on Kaua’i to provide substantial relief from traffic problems.
The funds for the 23-mile bicycle and pedestrian project also should be re-allocated to fight the war on drugs and the use of “Ice” and to solve solid waste problems, Mickens has said.
Staff writer Lester Chang can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 225) and mailto:lchang@pulitzer.net
