Kihei residents say road shortage could imperil lives
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Lahaina wildfire survivor Patricia Bradley says Kihei needs to have access routes for an evacuation if there is an emergency.
"Access to escape where there is a fire is terrible," Bradley told Maui Council members Monday night.
Like Bradley, several South Maui residents told a Maui County Council budget committee the county needs to complete the two-lane north-south collector road as soon as possible, providing an evacuation route in addition to Piilani Highway and Kihei Road.
"I'd like to get out of Kihei safely," said Patricia Hoskin, a retired teacher who supports a north-south collector road.
Kihei resident Audrey Lester said there have been at least a couple of environmental studies and the project should be expedited.
"How can we get it going faster?" Lester said.
Funding for the north-south collector road was not included in Mayor Richard Bissen's proposed budget for the 2025-26 fiscal year, but money was included in the six-year capital improvement plan with anticipated expenditures in future years.
The Bissen administration said it anticipates that the majority funding will come from federal monies.
The county said a special management area permit is required for the project as well as authorization of easements and land acquisition from abutting property owners.
The Bissen administration said the building of the north-south collector road might be accelerated if there is support from abutting landowners and additional state funding.
Part of the plan for the road is to extend Lipoa Drive and its integrated shared-use path from Waipu'ilani Road to the vicinity of Ka'ono'ulu Street. The proposed extension is about 9.3 miles.
The north-south collector road would also provide alternate crossings over Waipu'ilani and Kulanihakoi gulches during storm events.
Residents testified in support of a connector road across Kihei as an alternative route to relieve traffic and help in emergency evacuation. Map courtesy of Maui County
Set along the southwestern slope of Haleakala with several miles of nearly unbroken sandy beaches, Kihei has seen higher population growth than the national average, experiencing more than a 24% increase from 2000 to 2010.
The population is more than 24,000 residents, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, in addition to the thousands of visitors frequenting resorts and vacation condominiums in South Maui.
Kihei Community Association President John Laney said in the next 10 years, there are 7,000 new homes in the pipeline for South Maui but no new roads planned.
Laney said completion of a collector road would take some of the pressure off Piilani Highway and South Kihei Road.
"We need the state and county to pay for it," Laney said. "We cannot have 7,000 new homes without new roads."
He said that during rush hour, there's a chokepoint with traffic lights on Piilani Highway and Lipoa Street and Piikea Avenue.
"Getting through there at rush hour is an L.A. crawl," he said.
The Bissen administration said a north-south collector road would provide an additional access in the event of a wildfire.
The administration recently announced the Maui Emergency Management Administration has developed a new evacuation planning and notification platform. Maui County users can view predetermined evacuation zones and receive notifications through the platform.
All residents are also encouraged to sign up for MEMA Alerts emergency notifications at MauiCounty.gov/MEMA. During registration, users may select how and where they wish to receive alerts.
