11/20/2023 0 Comments Longterm parking seatac shuttle![]() Limiting capacity was the magic ingredient to revive the idea. ![]() Passengers board a North Shore shuttle at Kee beach on Kauai. Kauai County had once piloted a shuttle between Princeville and Kee Beach, but the County Council voted 4-2 to stop funding it in 2015 because of the cost to taxpayers, Pacific Business News reported. “Unfortunately, shuttles are real expensive,” said Guy. The nonprofit, Hanalei Initiative, says between 100 and 200 cars were diverted from the road per day in 2022, adding up to more than 50,000 cars not contributing to traffic that year.īut just implementing a shuttle wasn’t enough. “Thirty days ago, today’s allocation went on sale, and they’re gone in an hour,” Joel Guy, head of the local nonprofit that operates the shuttle, said in late July. When the park reopened, new capacity limits were in place along with a shuttle. But this devastation also provided an opportunity to revamp how tourism works at Haena State Park. In April 2018, heavy rain – almost 50 inches in a 24-hour period – flooded the area, essentially severing it from the rest of the island for more than a year. The lush cliffs of Kauai’s Napali Coast once lured almost 3,000 visitors each day, their cars lining the road to and from Haena Point on the island’s north shore. (Getty Images/iStockphoto)Ī trailhead shuttle also wouldn’t be a new concept in Hawaii. Unlike Honolulu, however, these trailheads aren’t in suburban neighborhoods. A shuttle carries hikers from Seattle to trailheads at Mount Si and other popular hiking destinations to ease crowded parking conditions. In 2019, its third year of service, the program saw a more than 75% increase in ridership over the year before, with an estimated 35,000 rides logged and 6,800 cars “diverted” from the trailhead lots. In 2016, King County Metro reached out to King County Parks to figure out what to do. That resulted in a seasonal shuttle system called Trailhead Direct that on weekends and holidays brings hikers from Seattle to popular hiking destinations along Interstate 90, departing about every 30 minutes. “There had been quite a bit of media coverage around a couple of parking areas in particular that had really severely oversubscribed parking,” said Ryan Miller, a transportation planner for King County Metro. Rainforest routes like Mount Si, about an hour’s drive from Seattle, promise a beautiful view of the Cascade Range. Trailhead shuttles have had success elsewhere.Ĭars clogging up entrances to popular trails also had been an issue for years in King County, Washington, for example. The idea has emerged as an option for Lanikai as the state reckons with the need for more managed access in its tourism-driven economy. But residents and state officials are seeking longer-term solutions, including the possibility of limiting trail usage with a reservation system and free shuttle. The City and County of Honolulu has tried to mitigate the congestion by restricting parking on selected weekends and holidays. ![]() Hikers park along Lanikai’s Mokulua Drive to reach its beach and its pillbox trail. ![]() “Two thousand people a day is an alarming number, especially superimposed on Lanikai,” said Bill Hicks, chair of the Kailua Neighborhood Board. And with parking essentially limited to the narrow streets of the beachside community, the car traffic is just as bad, causing friction with local residents. Its trail up to a World War II-era pillbox overlooking the sea is both beautiful and relatively short, drawing thousands of hikers on weekends and holidays.īut Lanikai Pillbox, also known as Kaiwa Ridge, has become heavily eroded from all the foot traffic. Situated on Oahu’s windward side, its beach keeps popping up on best-of lists. It is no secret that Lanikai is a victim of its own success. The idea is being considered as part of efforts to better manage access for popular tourist destinations on Oahu.
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