With Kaua‘i, work underway to develop the second leg of a proposed 16-mile bicycle and pedestrian coastal pathway to beautify East county officials are turning their attention to the next phase. Representatives from MDG, Inc. and county officials will be
With Kaua‘i, work underway to develop the second leg of a proposed 16-mile bicycle and pedestrian coastal pathway to beautify East county officials are turning their attention to the next phase.
Representatives from MDG, Inc. and county officials will be holding the first of three public-informational meetings for a four-mile pathway from the Ahukini State Recreational Pier near Lihu‘e Airport to Lydgate Park in Wailua on Wednesday, June 22, from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. at King Kaumuali‘i Elementary School in Hanama‘ulu.
The meeting comes on the heels of recent actions by county leaders to award a nearly $12-million contract to Jas. W. Glover leaders to design and build a 4.3-mile leg of the coastal trail from the county Lihi Park by the Pono Kai Resort in Kapa‘a to Ahihi Point, commonly known as “Donkey Beach.”
The entire 16-mile project, which consists of six phases, is intended to preserve access to and beautify the coastline from Ahukini to Anahola. The project will result in much easier beach access, benefiting residents and visitors.
For the latest project, MDG Inc. leaders have been contracted by officials in the Kaua‘i County Department of Public Works to study various alignments before one is selected and is developed.
The consultant also will be preparing an environmental assessment for the pathway.
Determining the alignment will not be easy. Two years ago, the owner of a 400-plus-acre parcel located north of Hanama‘ulu Bay had his own ideas about how the bicycle path should be developed on his property.
E.W. Moody, a Las Vegas-based landowner, had proposed an upper-end residential project and golf course on his property in 2003.
At the time, Moody had proposed a bicycle pathway in his own project, and wanted to maintain the improvement, county officials were told at the time.
County officials said they would work with him in determining the alignment of the project, nonetheless.
Residents are invited to the June 22 meeting to learn about the project and to give input, according to Roxanne MacDougall, a consultant on the project.
An environmental assessment began in May, and is expected to be completed by the end of this year, MacDougall said. Some $500,000 in Federal Highway Administration funds will be used for that task, she said.
Construction and land-acquisition funds have been allocated for fiscal years 2005-2007. Mac-Dougall said that the coastal leg will include portions of Hanama‘ulu Beach Park, open lands between the park and the Radisson Kauai Beach Resort and the Wailua Golf Course, and that the alignment will be dictated by the terrain.
The first phase of the six-phase, 16-mile project, includes a 2.5-mile trail through Lydgate Park. This portion has been completed and is being used by the public.
The second phase involves the construction of a 4.3-mile leg from Lihi Park to Donkey Beach.
The other three phases include: a 2-mile portion from Lydgate Park to Lihi Park; a 3-mile leg from Kuna Bay to Anahola; and an 8-mile portion from Ahukini to Nawiliwili Harbor. The total cost of the 16-mile pathway is anticipated in the range of $30 million, primarily from federal dollars.
Kaua‘i County officials will contribute capital-improvement funds when needed and when available, they said.
The maintenance of the pathway will be undertaken by county workers when the entire 16-mile project is completed. For more information on the latest project, please contact MacDougall at 822-5798.
