With the help of residents, Mayor Bryan J. Baptiste and his staff have forged a solution to the problem of a beach-access road running under the Kamalani Kai Bridge at Lydgate Park in Wailua. By Friday, a boulder was removed
With the help of residents, Mayor Bryan J. Baptiste and his staff have forged a solution to the problem of a beach-access road running under the Kamalani Kai Bridge at Lydgate Park in Wailua.
By Friday, a boulder was removed from a beach area north of the bridge, allowing motorists to drive onto Wailua Beach again, according to Tim Bynum, community response specialist in the county Office of Economic Development.
Because of public complaints about motorists speeding under the bridge and posing a risk to children playing by the bridge, Baptiste last month ordered boulders to be placed under the bridge to block vehicular access to the beach.
As part of the solution as well, Baptiste also decided to have fencing put up around the base of the bridge, Bynum told The Garden Island Friday.
This way, a playing area would be delineated for children, and would encourage motorists to drive cautiously and slowly if and when vehicular access is allowed under the bridge again, Bynum said.
Fencing is planned to be put up this month, he said.
Once the fence is up, a decision will probably be made in the future on whether or not to allow motorists to continue to drive under the bridge, Bynum said.
“Personally, I am pleased with the temporary solution, and there are future intentions of continuing access under the bridge once we can make certain the safety issues are dealt with,” Bynum said.
During a meeting Baptiste held at the Lydgate Park pavilion Thursday afternoon to find a solution for uses by the Kamalani Kai Bridge, about 70 people were asked for their advice.
By the time discussion had ended and a vote was taken, 28 people voted to keep access under the bridge, and 21 voted to put the access elsewhere, Bynum said.
On a trial basis, Dennis Barretto of Kapa‘a, for instance, said an alternate beach access should be established in an area known as marine camp.
On the vote, “49 people who stayed around for the second round of voting seemed pretty happy with the outcome,” said Bynum, a longtime community leader with Friends of Kamalani who admitted going into the meeting process that he was not an unbiased observer.
Bynum is assigned to the area from Ha‘ena to Wailua Houselots, both for the purposes of community response and for Baptiste’s Ka Leo O Kaua‘i community-meetings program.
The program allows residents and government officials to work together to address key community concerns.
The solutions that went into effect Friday were implemented one day after Baptiste’s meeting with the 70 residents at the Lydgate Park pavilion, which he called to solicit recommendations to forge solutions.
Baptiste and residents were trying to balance reducing the risk of children being struck by vehicles as they played by the bridge and continuing to provide motorized beach access.
Baptiste’s decision to put boulders under the bridge last month generated complaints from longtime fishermen and beach-goers, who said the boulders prevented them from driving onto the beach.
Access was not totally denied them, however, because motorists could still park in areas by the boulders, and walk to the beach.
Clayton Arinaga, an assistant chief of the Kaua‘i Police Department, said vehicular traffic is not allowed on state beaches, on principle.
But people can drive on the two-mile coastline from the Kamalani Kai Bridge to the beach by the old Sea Shell Restaurant on Wailua Bay because the land belongs to the county, Arinaga said.
He said it was his understanding that coastline had been deeded over to the County of Kaua‘i by state officials, making the shoreline stretch county property.
Arinaga said a county law allows people to drive on the beach and unload their goods, but requires them to drive off the beach afterward.
The county law also prohibits people from driving aimlessly on the beach, Arinaga said. Accompanying Arinaga to the Lydgate Park pavilion meeting Thursday was KPD Lt. Fred De Busca.
With the new access established and fencing to be put up by the bridge, Baptiste administration officials plan to turn their attention to other matters related to the bridge, Bynum said.
People have voiced concerns about the protection of ancient Hawaiian burial sites and vegetation, and the need to keep the beaches litter-free, Bynum said.
“There is a lot of optimism about the situation improving there,” said Bynum
People, including Kaua‘i County Councilman Mel Rapozo, also have voiced concerns about reports of drug use and drug sales by the bridge, and loitering of youths.
Rapozo said such activities make it unsafe for residents, and efforts have to be made to curb criminal activity by the bridge.
Last weekend, a brawl broke out near Kamalani Kai Bridge involving some minors and young adults, resulting in some injuries and one arrest for assault.
Staff Writer Lester Chang may be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 225) or lchang@pulitzer.net.
