Letter for Jan. 6, 2016

Letter for Jan. 6, 2016

Island has changed, can’t be the same 

I read The Garden Island e-edition daily and am always interested in what is going on on Kauai. As a first timer to Kauai in the very early 70s, I was fortunate to experience the island in a very laid back stage of existence. 

As with virtually everything/place in life, the island is changing and evolving … this is life, so embrace it and work with it as there is no going back. The future needs to be directed but I am certain that no perfect unbiased visionary exists that can chart the perfect future for Kauai (or anyplace for that matter.) 

Does the island need a larger airport to accommodate more and larger planes? I doubt it. Do you need more and larger hotels? I doubt it. Does the traffic need to be better managed? Of course. 

Tourists rental cars add a huge burden to the roads but I have been on the island in off-peak times and the flow through Kapaa or Kalaheo is still impacted by “local” commute traffic. For those that have made Kauai their home since the 1970s should they move back home to fix this situation or is it that “they” don’t want any others to come to “their” island? 

I, too, long for the Kauai of old but it has passed. I wish the best to those “native” Hawaiians on Molokai as they have the best chance to keep it the way it was! 

Mike Fallis 

Fair Oaks, California