Removal of fire debris to worsen Lahaina traffic

By Yiming Fu, Report for America corps member

As Maui County moves Lahaina fire debris from their temporary debris site to a permanent one, 50 trucks will roar down the Honoapiilani Highway that connects Lahaina to Central Maui. They will move from sunrise to sunset 7 days a week.

“This operation is going to be very intense, with many truckloads over a very extended period of time,” Maui County communications director Mahina Martin said at a Wednesday Lahaina recovery meeting. “You will be very affected traffic wise.”

Martin said the county will do the best to get traffic alerts out a month in advance with signboards, radio, TV streaming, print ads, social media, and at meetings with employers and schools.

The county also wants residents to suggest other stakeholders they should meet with to discuss traffic plans.

“We’re going to be entering a season that is going to be difficult,” Martin said, “whether you’re traveling into Lahaina or going out of Lahaina or just trying to deliver something.”

Many residents at the meeting balked at the additional traffic on a highway that already fails to serve its population. The one-lane Honoapiilani Highway has a history of traffic stoppages caused by car accidents and a lack of alternative routes.

Lahaina fire survivor and resident Kekoa Mowat raised the concern that June to September is the busiest time on the roads to Lahaina. That’s when the amount of travelers pick up.

“We don’t have groups so nobody’s coming on busses to West Maui, and occupancy in the hotels will rise so that means more cars in June.”

Mowat asked if the debris removal can be pushed back to September.

The reason Maui County has to do this cleanup now, Mayor Richard Bissen said, is they have to finish the cleanup by the end of the year or else FEMA might pull out their funding. Otherwise, taxpayers will have to pay for the cleanup.

The Central Maui debris site was chosen by residents through a series of community engagements, Maui’s environmental director Shayne Agawa said. They ranked their priorities, marking their highest priority as getting the fire debris as far away from schools, businesses and public spaces as possible.

Residents ranked their lowest priority as logistics, roadway safety issues and traffic concerns.

“That was the balance selected by the community, not the county,” Bissen said.

Bissen said the county also considered transporting the debris at night, but it is dangerous to ask workers to load and unload when it’s dark, even with bright lights. The daytime transport was the best option they could come up with.

Still, residents have suggestions that might improve the quality of life for locals, who get outnumbered by visitors in tourist season.

“Have hotels shuttle people,” Wailuku resident Yayoi Hara said. “Discourage people from renting cars. Stay at your resort, don’t move around.”