Paia stores sue
for parking spots

The state wants a ban on rush-hour
parking along Hana Highway

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By Gary T. Kubota
gkubota@starbulletin.com

PAIA, Maui >> Cindy Hanscam's family-owned Nagata Store in Paia has survived a tidal wave and the closing of the town's sugar mill.

But she said the latest threat, elimination of nearby parking during peak traffic hours, could put the 70-year-old store out of business.

"They say it's peak traffic but it's also peak business hours too," Hanscam said. "We're greatly opposed to it."

Paia town merchants and Maui Mayor James "Kimo" Apana warn businesses will lose hundreds of thousands of dollars if the state bans parking on the mauka side of Hana Highway during peak hours to improve traffic flow.

"This temporary fix might cause the death of some of our longtime businesses," Apana said.

The Paia Merchants Association filed a lawsuit yesterday, seeking a court order to halt the state's parking ban. A hearing is scheduled at 8:30 a.m. Friday before Maui Circuit Judge Joseph Cardoza.

The state highway plan, scheduled to take effect tomorrow would put a ban on mauka parking on Hana Highway from 4 to 6 p.m. weekdays from Charlie P. Woofer Saloon to the Shell gasoline station.

State officials want to use the 23 parking stalls for an additional lane through the town and relieve traffic on Baldwin Avenue.

The former sugar plantation town serves as a major stop for visitors on their way to and from Hana. But traffic on the two-lane Hana Highway has been increasing as more residents choose to live in rural areas of Maui..

During afternoon rush hour, the traffic from Kahului sometimes backs up two to three miles as it goes through Paia.

State officials say the plan to eliminate parking during peak hours is on a trial basis for a month, and officials will be measuring traffic flow.

Some government officials say a county parking lot developed on the Kahului side of Paia last year should help to lessen the loss of on-street parking.

Several Paia merchants said a better solution is to build a bypass, as planned years ago.

Merchants said the state should also consider that Alexander & Baldwin is planning to develop a reliever road from Hana Highway near the county parking lot to about four-tenths of a mile mauka on Baldwin Avenue.

Vicens Mercer, vice president of A&B Properties Inc. on Maui, said his firm is pursuing the alternative and the reliever road could be built in five to six months.

State highway engineer Robert Siarot said funding for the Paia bypass was lost because a number of Paia merchants opposed developing it.

Townspeople say the state should also be considering the safety of children who cross the highway to get to the basketball courts and beach.

"The biggest concern for me is the traffic going fast," said Panna Speas, owner of Maui Hands art-and-crafts store.

Nuage Bleu store employee Jenna Carlston said the town merchants have told the state at community meetings that they're against taking away the parking stalls.

"I just consider it rape. It's not consensual. Nobody wants it," Carlston said.

Jocelyn Perreira, whose nonprofit Tri-Isle Main Street Resource Center supports the revival of small towns, said the parking stalls are a part of the rural character of Paia and taking them away threatens to tear at the town's unique appeal.

"Are we going to sacrifice the unique rural character of our small towns for the sake of engineering expediency?" she said.