Visitors to Hawaii Volcanoes National Park are encouraged to help develop a plan to reduce traffic congestion within the popular destination.
The National Park Service announced Thursday that it is developing a Kilauea Summit Area and Corridor Management Plan, a document that eventually will allow the NPS to better manage the transportation infrastructure around and within the park to reduce frequent traffic delays.
Although HVNP spokeswoman Jessica Ferracane said the final draft of the plan is not expected to be completed for more than two years, feedback from park users now can help guide the direction of the plan in the future.
“Right now, we’re not considering any particular solutions yet,” Ferracane said. “But, for example, we know we have to reconfigure the parking spaces along Crater Rim Drive, we need better connections between our parking areas.”
From now until March 22, park users can submit comments online by visiting tinyurl.com/6t5rwnkv.
Commenters are advised to answer questions such as “What experiences within the Kilauea area do you find most important?” and “What is the park doing well to manage these issues that you would like to see continue?”
Ferracane said the problems with traffic congestion have existed since 2008, but extend beyond frustrating delays or crowded attractions for park users.
“When people can’t find parking and pull off onto the side of the road, they can destroy native plants, impact native species, maybe endanger nene,” Ferracane said. “Drivers make illegal U-turns when there isn’t parking available at Nahuku (Thurston Lava Tube), and that causes problems.”
After the current public comment period, Ferracane said NPS will hold at least one other comment period in the future, along with a public meeting.
Meanwhile, other work to improve traffic in the park will begin soon.
Ferracane said construction to install a roundabout near the park entrance should begin within the next month. When completed, Ferracane said, the traffic circle will help first-time visitors better orient themselves toward points of interest within the park.
Ferracane also said work to remove buildings near Halema‘uma‘u Crater that were damaged by the incessant earthquakes during the 2018 Kilauea eruption — such as Jaggar Museum and the former Hawaiian Volcano Observatory — should begin by late summer.
Contractors began using part of the nearby parking lot at Uekahuna as a staging ground earlier this month, and have been clearing out the building interiors since then, Ferracane said.
Email Michael Brestovansky at mbrestovansky@hawaiitribune-herald.com.