Safety at center of bike tour discussion

By MELISSA TANJI, Staff Writer
HALEAKALA NATIONAL PARK — The ongoing “safety stand down” on commercial downhill bicycle tours at Haleakala National Park will continue until all the impacts of commercial bike tours can be analyzed, the National Park Service announced Tuesday.

But Haleakala National Park Superintendent Marilyn Parris said that although commercial bike tour companies still cannot have their customers ride bikes in the park, companies that do not already have permits to conduct vehicle tours in the park will now be granted permits by next week and will be able to take their customers in the park for a vehicle tour before beginning bike rides outside the park.

Parris called a meeting Tuesday morning with the commercial bike tour companies to discuss her decision to continue the stand down until further studies — beyond safety issues — are done. Parris’ decision comes about six months after she initially ordered a suspension of bike tours within the park. Bike tour operators were fearful they would not be able to set foot in the park again and disagreed with the park service, saying their tours are safe.

“They have been been cooperative throughout this,” Parris acknowledged. “This is their business, I understand that. They understand the decision, why it was made. . . . Now they can bring in their clients into the park and start their tours outside.”

Bike tour officials said they were pleased with Parris’ decision and looked forward to working with the park service and government agencies on further studies.

“I think today was a very positive day. It was a long wait for us to get back into the park with our vans. . . . We will continue to work closely with the park to make everything safe as we possibly can,” said Richard Goodenough, president of Maui Downhill.

“There has been so much negative press about the tours. I see this tilting a lot toward safety than it has ever been before. It’s all positive for the community, our guests and my company. We will continue to work in that direction. We will continue to make this a win-win for everybody,” he added.

Phil Feliciano, owner of Cruiser Phil’s Volcano Riders, said: “I’m very pleased they finally made a decision. It feels like a big burden has been lifted off of us. We can formulate our future.”

Feliciano said his company can have a “seamless” operation now that he can bring in his own vans in the park.

He, like four other companies, do not have to continue using contract tour companies to bring in bike riders for a van tour of the park. That drove up costs for bike tour companies and customers.

Only two of the seven downhill bicycle companies at the park had permits to conduct vehicle tours at the park.

“I think it’s nice we are able to get back into the park with our vans,” agreed Jon Thuro of Maui Mountain Cruisers.

But Thuro said that option should have been made available since the “safety stand down” began last October.

Nevertheless, Thuro said he’s willing to sit down with parks officials and work with them on their further studies on commercial bike tours.

“We’re just glad to be able to get back into business a week from today,” said Petra Johnson, of Bike It Maui No Ka Oi.

Since bike tours within the park were suspended, Bike It Maui No Ka Oi shut down its business, while awaiting a decision about the ban.

Although Parris’ decision doesn’t necessarily affect Maui Sunriders Bike Co. as it already has a permit to do van tours at the park, Paolo Baricchi said the park service made a good decision.

He said park officials could have easily told the companies to continue to remain outside the park until further studies are done.

Since Oct. 10, commercial downhill bicycle tour companies have not been allowed to operate within the park. The action by parks officials followed a fatal crash in September involving a bicyclist on a tour. The fatality was the second in a year, and Parris said the suspension of bike tours in the park was a prudent step.

During a portion of the 60-day “safety stand down,” a National Park Service Analysis Team collected data and conducted studies on whether the tours could be conducted safely at the park.

Because of the “sheer volume” of information gathered, including the input from bicycle tour companies, Parris announced in November that the stand down would be extended until this year.

A preliminary report was presented in February to the National Park Service Pacific West Region Board of Review, which included Parris.

After the meeting, Parris said the preliminary report found that commercial bicycle downhill tours were one of the most “high-risk activities” at national parks.

In the final report, Parris said recommendations were made to mitigate safety issues and concerns. But those recommendations went beyond being a safety report and included feasibility issues and economic factors, such as decreasing tour sizes and eliminating third-party bookings for tours, which could not be legally implemented at the park because its Commercial Services Plan, regarding commercial activities in the park, is still being drafted.

The commercial services plan typically looks at what commercial activities are “necessary and/or appropriate for public use and enjoyment” in accordance with National Park Service management policies of the park, a news release said.

The continued safety stand down will allow Haleakala National Park to continue its work on the Commercial Services Plan. Park officials had been working on the plan since 2006, but the work was put on hold while the downhill tours were being evaluated, Parris said.

In the next few months parks officials will resume meetings to allow members of the public and bike tour companies to comment on commercial bike tours in the park and how the activity would be incorporated in the Commercial Services Plan, she said. (Members of the public may also comment on other commercial activities in the park, she said.)

Parris said she expects that it will take from a year to a year and a half to complete the Commercial Services Plan, which will be accompanied by an environmental impact statement.

“Do I feel we can have a safer . . . guided bike tour in the park?” Parris asked out loud.

“Sure,” she said, adding that noncommercial bike riders have continued to ride in the park during the stand down, and there have not been any accidents or fatalities.

Parris said bike tours won’t operate as they had in the past, but she left open the possibility for a “different kind of bike tours.”

In a statement released by six of the seven downhill bicycle tour companies, owners said they were pleased that Parris was remaining open the possibility of bike tours returning to the park.

• Melissa Tanji can be reached at mtanji@mauinews.com.