12/20/24 #kihei

Pedestrians and cyclists going Southward through Kīhei have been able to avoid the unsafe Pi‘ilani Hwy and South Kihei Road (SKR) using residential streets until they reached Ka‘ono‘ulu. The only way to continue was using the narrowing shoulder of the (illegal) high speed undivided highway or SKR.

No sidewalk, no bike lane, not even a shoulder on much of SKR in North Kihei

But a solution was coming… some day. The North-South Collector Road (NSCR) was planned in the 1980’s to support traffic within Kīhei, including for pedestrians and bicyclists.
 

How difficult is it to make this corridor a multimodal road with trees, sidewalk and bike path?

A safe, secure bike path in Kihei (image: gokihei.org)

 
How would this benefit our community?
  • Alternative to South Kihei Road. Important during emergencies.
  • Alternative to Pi‘ilani Highway within Kīhei. Low speed, less congested, circulation route.
  • Beautification of an undeveloped corridor
  • Reduced fire hazard
  • Drainage improvements
  • Recreational/health opportunities with extension of the multi-use path
  • Safer and more comfortable biking/walking route

On the existing “shared use path” we see this. Will that be the case on the next segments?

 
It has been well over a decade since the NSCR, going North, ended at Waipu‘ilani. The wide unpaved corridor sat there waiting for the extension as far as Ka‘ono‘ulu. Various Administration Directors in Public Works advised design work was proceeding, offering the community false hope. But hope was renewed when newly elected Mayor Bissen told KCA this was his top transportation infrastructure project, followed shortly by the announcement that a Federal Raise grant for $25M in June of 2023 was secured for the project. These were strong indications that our time had finally arrived.
 
Now 1 1/2 years after announcing the grant, what is the status of the two phases: 1 between Waipu‘ilani and Kūlanihāko‘i and 2 between Kūlanihāko‘i and Ka‘ono‘ulu?  Phase one might be open for public use in 2029!!  Phase 2, finally breaking the wall for cyclists & pedestrians at Ka‘onou‘lu?? There still is not even a projected year for that one. 
 

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