Lingle panel backs
recreation over pier

A proposal to help cruise ships
draws opposition on Maui

WAILUKU » Gov. Linda Lingle's advisory committee on Maui has recommended that the state protect canoeing and other recreational uses at Kahului Harbor.

Committee Vice Chairman Ezekiela Kalua said the state should also seek a secondary site within Kahului Harbor to accommodate cruise ships rather than support the current proposal for a pier.

"We want to see a good, efficient solution is put in and not one that is destructive," Kalua said Friday.

State transportation officials have developed a plan that includes building a so-called finger pier called "Pier 2c" that extends toward the middle of the harbor from the end of Pier 2.

Kalua said the committee also felt the cruise ship industry should contribute to improvements at the harbor, including security and comfort stations.

Some groups are against building Pier 2c to accommodate more cruise ships.

Kalua said canoe paddlers feel the proposal would eliminate regattas in the harbor. He said the interisland barge firm Young Bros. also has concerns that the new pier would reduce the emergency buffer needed between vessels.

Some critics have said state officials underestimated the effect the pier would have on youth recreation. Two canoe clubs have clubhouses at the harbor, including Hawaiian Canoe Club, Maui's largest canoe club.

Critics say the state should extend the harbor east toward the county wastewater treatment plant and should develop an environmental impact study to explore other alternatives.