KAILUA-KONA — Parking at Laaloa Beach Park this Memorial Day weekend, much like the beach scene itself, is going to be tight.
The narrow parking area at the park along Alii Drive, also known as Magic Sands, is only nine days into an 18-month shutdown. When it is reopened, likely sometime in late 2018, there will be fewer parking slots under a different configuration. The lot supports about two dozen vehicles under its current configuration.
Hawaii County Department of Parks and Recreation explained the closure is part of a commitment local government made to parties like the Hawaii Island Burial Council, the State Historic Preservation Division and cultural and lineal descendants and practitioners of the area “… in respect of and in furtherance of the preservation of Haukalua heiau and several other culturally significant sites located on the property.”
In the meantime, beach goers are asked to park along a narrow lane on Alii Drive’s makai side or at Kipapa Park, across the street and a little north of the entrance to Magic Sands.
“No, it’s not really (an inconvenience),” James Ward, a Hawaii Island resident since 2009 and a frequent visitor to Magic Sands, said Friday. “I know it’s for cultural reasons, and this is good for cultural reasons. It’s cool.”
Ward added visitor traffic at the beach park pales in comparison to places like Oahu’s North Shore and that beach usage doesn’t jump too significantly on holidays as compared to any normal weekend.
But not everyone was as understanding. Matthew Pinstein of Holualoa wrote a letter to West Hawaii Today on Friday expressing support for the respect the department afforded the heiau south of Magic Sands by way of its decision to close the lot.
His issue was the “heavy handed” manner the county chose in protecting the sacred site.
“People are now instructed to use the parking lot across the street which, ironically enough, is right next to another heiau!” Pinstein wrote. “Although the lot is bigger, it fills up quickly and requires people to cross the street. This crossing has created a danger zone due to increased traffic and impatient drivers since the switch early last week.”
Traffic farther north on Alii Drive was even more congested than usual Friday, as the Department of Public Works began work on the Alii Drive Bridge near the Kona Tiki Hotel to repair and/or remove damaged railings.
Barett Otani, information and education specialist with the department, said Friday that police found pieces of railing on the ground, possibly from an unreported accident there Thursday night.
The railing was compromised and therefore unsafe. The damaged portions of railing will be replaced temporarily with a portable, water-filled barrier.
No work on the bridge will take place on Saturday or Sunday, but will resume early in the week and run possibly through Wednesday.
Otani said a speed hump, not a speed bump, will be temporarily employed to slow traffic to the desired 25 mph while repairs are conducted. Speed humps are the same as the speed reducers on Kupuna Street and Royal Poinciana Drive.
None of the work is related to the Alii Drive culvert replacement project, which is expected to begin in early 2019.
Getting back to parking, as for stashing the vehicle around Magic Sands, most beach goers Friday shared the sentiment expressed by Ward.
Kaya Lane and Savannah Regalia drove to the park to escape gloomier conditions near their home further south. They both described the parking changes as “a little inconvenient,” but added it wasn’t a big deal.
“Maybe it will keep the beach less crowded, so it might not be that bad,” Regalia said. “I’m digging the mellow vibe here.”