O’ahu isn’t the only island where transit oriented development is being considered for the future.
Kahului 2070 is Maui County’s long-range concept plan for transit oriented development. The plan calls for the current bus transit hub at the Queen Ka’ahumanu Shopping Center to move to the other side of the street to a state-owned property by 2020. Marc Takamori is with the County’s Department of Transportation.
“Our transit system is a hub and spoke system so, at the top and bottom of every hour, you’re gonna see buses either arriving or leaving Queen Ka’ahumanu Center. So, I we’re gonna move that hub area far away from Queen Ka’ahumanu Center, the Lahaina route are not going to be able to meet up at the top of the bottom of the hour. What’s nice is that its right across the street so it’s not gonna really impact our bus services that much.”
The County provided 650-thousand dollars for the transit center’s planning and design and the state appropriated 2.5 million for construction. The transit center will be adjacent to affordable and senior housing. New street classifications are also being adopted. Lauren Armstrong is executive director of the Maui Metropolitan Planning Organization.
“Our Public Works Department is looking at redesigning Kane street to implement safety measures such as taking away a vehicle travel lane to accommodate bicyclists and pedestrians. We recognize this is a really critical part of having the transit hub be successful, part of the community and really a catalyst for this new type of development we want to see on Maui.”
The County planning department is also tying land use to transportation design to support mixed use communities and pedestrian-friendly neighborhoods. Dave Yamashita is a Maui county planner focusing on redevelopment.
“This is about connections, about mixed use and then, creating a 20-minute neighborhood. So, within 20 minutes, you can walk to get basic services, your groceries, you can go shopping, go to the beach. So the transit center is not just one project but it’s one part of a redevelopment effort.”
The County is also planning to rewrite its 57 year-old zoning code and integrate the bus system, land use and development to create a transit corridor to connect Kahului to Wailuku. Pam Eaton is Maui’s long-range planning division chief.
“So, we’re basically looking for these two really great, compact communities, very high in services, University of Hawai.i, medical where people and of course, one is the County’s seat of government and then connecting them through a transit corridor.”
For HPR News, I’m Wayne Yoshioka.
