The Maui County Office of Recovery is inviting the community to share their opinions on the way streets in the commercial core of Lahaina are rebuilt, including Front Street. The planning area extends from Baker Street to Prison Street and from Honoapiilani Highway down to the shoreline. Photo courtesy Front Street Recovery

Maui residents and business owners attended a series of public meetings last week about redesigning streets in Lahaina as several potential alternatives were presented for changing the traffic flow including turning a portion of Front Street from two-way to one-way traffic.

“No decisions have been made yet,” Maui Mayor Richard Bissen said at the June 26 meeting at Lahaina Intermediate School.

More county meetings are scheduled for later this year.

During the June 26 meeting, consultants spoke about redesigning other streets as well, including extending the one-way Luakini Street by cutting across Lahainaluna Road through the site that once housed Foodland Super Market at the Lahaina Shopping Center.

Other traffic options include building a public parking and a shuttle bus area near the Pioneer Smokestack.

There was also a proposal to narrow the lanes on Papalaua Street and add street trees for shade and to encourage pedestrian traffic.

“These are initial concepts,” the mayor explained. “So now you have something you can go for or against or add to or take away from. I know you’ll let us know if we got it wrong. So please, please give us your input.”

When consultant Jeff Speck of Speck Dempsey spoke about redesigning some streets in Lahaina, he tempered his remarks about “pedestrianizing” cities. Speck is a land-use planner with the land use planning, urban design, and transportation policy firm that advocates for more walkable cities.

According to Speck, 190 of the 210 retail streets in U.S. cities that were “pedestrianized” in the 1960s through 1980s failed. “The merchants went out of business so we’re very wary of what it means to pedestrianize a street,” Speck said.

While discussions continue about rebuilding the town’s commercial center, many residents and landowners are looking at the effect any changes might have on Lahaina’s business activity. According to state economists, Lahaina generated about $2.7 million a day in revenue.

“It was really busy,” said Kaleo Schneider, a spokesperson for the Front Street Recovery group that represents more than 70 landowners in Lahaina.

“Front Street needs to be two ways,” Schneider added. “We need cars on the street.”

Schneider said parking on the seaside of Front Street could be improved, and her group also supports rebuilding the oceanside of Front Street as it was before the wildfire.

Lynn Shue’s business, Village Galleries, was destroyed in the fire, also said she hopes to see Lahaina rebuild how it was.

“I just want it to continue to have a quaint Hawaiian seaside feeling,” Shue said.

According to Maui County officials, the community engagement process seeks to stimulate discussion of options. As the process evolves, the goal of the project team will be to work with stakeholders to identify and refine preferred options.

At this time, no specific locations or improvements have been determined.

For more about the rebuilding effort in Lahaina, go to www.MauiRecovers.org.