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Wailuku parking structure to open in September

Pending rate plan proposes first two hours free, $1 per hour after that

By Colleen Uechi 6 min read

WAILUKU -- The four-story, 393-stall parking structure that aims to clear up street parking in Wailuku town is set to open Sept. 1, according to Maui County and construction officials.

Church Street will debut as a two-way street in August to get drivers used to the new configuration before the parking garage opens the following month, Dowling Co. Construction Manager Brian Ige said.

"It was very challenging for construction crews both on the roadways and at the parking structure, but now we're at the point where we can see a day we can open it, which will be Sept. 1," Ige told the Wailuku Community Association last week. "So hopefully the town will get back to normal and become as vibrant as it was before the construction started. It's been a long three years but we're almost there."

Ige explained that the main entrance and only exit from the parking garage will be along Church Street. There will be another entrance along a new access road from Market Street, which has been open since April 17.

Under the proposed plan that will go to the Maui County Council for review, residents would get two hours of free parking at the structure, while visitors would pay $1 an hour upon entry, according to Erin Wade of the Maui County Department of Management. Residents parking for longer than two hours also would pay $1 an hour, though employees of any Wailuku town business could purchase employee permits at $30 a month for a general pass or $10 a month for those making low income (85 percent or below the area median income).

"Our number one priority is, how do we create a lot of turnover on Market Street?" Wade said at the meeting. "So if you want to run in and grab something, just to pick up or grab coffee or do your banking, it's really easy and convenient for you to still do that. ... And if you want to stay longer that you seek parking within the parking structure or one of the external lots to keep it nice and free flowing."

Wade said that about 189 employees have requested permits so far, most of which are not county employees. In Wailuku, a longtime concern has been employees parking for long periods of time on Market Street and taking up "prime parking" spots in front of businesses.

Christine Sabado and her artist husband Phil Sabado have been working in Wailuku for 35 years and recently moved Sabado Galleries to the former Brown-Kobayashi storefront near Iao Theater. Parking is a constant hassle -- Christine Sabado says she moves her car between two-hour free parking stalls throughout the day.

"As a business owner, I'm taking up my customers' parking," she said at the meeting. "Where in any world do owners or employees take up prime parking?"

She said she's noticing more tourists stopping in Wailuku in between their morning hotel check-out time and their late-evening flights. To clear up parking while work continues on the structure, she suggested that the county-run Da Bee shuttle pick up Wailuku town employees at nearby Safeway and drop them off on Market Street.

"I don't need to take up eight hours a day on the street, and trust me, many of us do," she said. "And our customers don't have a place to park. The customers come and go, but there's no way for them to come. Many people said, 'I would've come to your shop, but I can't find parking.'"

Wade said that the county has funds for a pilot project to test the use of Da Bee shuttle to transport folks who work in the area.

Joe Alueta, owner of Request Music on Market Street and former deputy planning director who worked on the parking structure project, said he's "happy to see it finally come to completion." However, he has concerns about the paid parking proposal.

"As far as I'm concerned, it is a regressive tax, because it's going to be the poor people, the working-class people, who are going to pay for the parking because they need all-day parking," he said Monday.

Alueta said he's thinking of buying one or two passes for his small operation that he can provide to employees. As a longtime county worker, he said, "I get the idea and the reasons behind the high cost of free parking in America. I think for a lot of other people, it's going to be a tough pill to swallow."

In between the parking construction and the nine-month closure of Iao Valley State Monument, it's been a tough stretch for Wailuku businesses.

"I'm anxious to see how it impacts businesses," he said of the new parking structure plan. "Is there a net positive?"

Wade said a previous proposal called for paid parking on the street to incentivize parking in the garage, but after people raised concerns -- pointing out that the long construction period has already been hard on the community -- that plan was scrapped. Street parking will still be free for two hours for residents and visitors, but will be monitored more consistently, Wade said.

The parking structure will also double as an events space. The first floor is large enough to host farmers markets and other community gatherings, and the third floor will have a connection to the future Halau of 'Oiwi Art that could serve as an extension of events there.

Wade said that "the intention is for everyone to be out by 11 p.m.," with the exception of overnight parking passes. Those are proposed to cost $55 a month for general neighborhood residential passes or $15 a month for low-income neighborhood residential passes. Overnight passes for visitors lodging in the area are proposed at $20 a night, Wade said.

There will be 24-hour security provided by Diamond Parking, which is contracted to manage the structure.

Residents at last week's meeting also raised concerns over the handling of burials and whether cultural practitioners would have access to them.

"There were human remains found at the parking structure site," Wade said. "They are preserved in place. The project paused for about nine and a half months while the parking facility was redesigned to allow the iwi kupuna to continue to rest in place. ... I won't disclose the location but they're preserved in place on the property."

She said cultural practitioners can access the two hours of free resident parking, and "beyond that, I know most times you folks come in the evening, so evenings are open and free after 6 p.m., but with the caveat that (folks are) probably out by midnight." For late-night access for cultural practitioners, she said, "I think we can figure something out" if it's not a big group.

Wade added that iwi kupuna found on Church Street during the construction project have also been preserved in place, and a descendant found through the State Historic Preservation Division asked to maintain the site, "so that is what we have allowed."

* Colleen Uechi can be reached at cuechi@mauinews.com.

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