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Imagine fee and gated Honolua Bay and Kamaole beach parks, along with most beaches on Maui.
Imagine backed up traffic at a Paia toll booth to the Hana Highway.
Imagine Lahaina town with only paid parking. Maui would have gatekeepers at every turn, for a fee, for a reservation.
This is the master plan for Maui County. You may respond ìgreat.î You may say ìit's okay because residents park free with proof of ID.î You may say ìwe need the fees to protect the 'aina.î But the underlying problem is not solved.
What solves over-tourism, over-use and degradation of the 'aina is a capacity cap on vacation accommodations. Maui County extended its ban on new permits for short-term rentals recently, but environmentally disastrous, they freed up expansion of hotels and timeshares.
Tourists are charged 17.25 percent excise and transient accommodations taxes on lodging. Since 2021, nightly rental rates have increased dramatically, thus substantially increasing state and county revenues.
Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources receives only about 2 percent of the state's budget to protect and serve the environment. Solution: Increase the DLNR's share to 3 percent, and cap tourism by limiting vacation rooms on island. Nickeling and diming parking areas and entries into parks essentially commercializes nature. That's not natural.
Toll booths will be everywhere. Maui will experience frustrated locals and tourists without reservations for beaches and parks. Residents will find it difficult to get reservations (e.g. Haleakala sunrise).
Protect the reefs, protect the ëaina, by limiting visitors, not by charging fees.
Kelli Lundgren
Ka'anapali