Put safety first for erosion at Sunset

It’s winter time in Hawaii, which means awestruck visitors and kamaaina alike converging on the North Shore for the annual show of force by towering Pacific waves crashing on the beach. Skilled surfers brave the hazards, thrilling the onlookers.

Increasingly, winter also means that the beach is eroding at a faster rate. Its primary access road, Kamehameha Highway, which was built at a time of less concern about sea-level rise, snakes up the coast too close to high cliffs and places where the road bed has been undercut and is unstable.

Thus, drivers barreling up the Windward Coast and northward now are confronting hazards all their own, and city officials are rightly taking steps to counter them.

Among the most perilous zones is the severely eroded shoreline surrounding Sunset Beach Park. The long-running debate over finding a permanent solution — including the costly prospect of moving the highway inland — has given way to the impetus to ensure public safety.

One is simple public education. On Thursday, in advance of the upcoming holidays and anticipated North Shore excursions, the city warned the public against taking chances, especially at spots such as the 20-foot cliff at Sunset.

The overhang is unstable, said Jim Howe, director of the Honolulu Department of Emergency Services. Its collapse is a real possibility, and despite the attraction, it would be foolish to tempt the fates. Even walking down smaller cliffs was discouraged, to avoid damage that speeds erosion even more.

A storage shed standing at cliff’s edge has now been dismantled. A careful survey of the entire shoreline to identify any other structures in need of removal or reinforcement should follow. Stretches of coastal property, including public rights-of-way such as the North Shore bike path, are at risk. Crews also removed rubble from that bike path that had broken off.

There have been halting steps taken to plan permanent solutions where the highway is concerned. In the Laniakea Beach area, the configuration of the highway and the adjacent shoreline at a popular stopping-off point led to traffic backups that compelled the state to erect barriers.

The long-term answer is to realign the highway, but funding for that initiative has come in fits and starts. The state Department of Transportation needs to prioritize needed safety repairs for the immediate future and advance the development of the permanent fix.

Another shortcoming identified by geologic and planning experts is that Oahu land-use regulations have permitted development with insufficient setback from the ocean. This problem has plagued the North Shore as well, with beachfront property owners trying to protect their homes from the incursion of the waves with seawalls. Such structures have the effect of intensifying the erosive effect in other spots.

The only real answer is amending the rules to compel a wider setback. It’s a heavy lift from a regulatory standpoint, but other counties have done it. Kauai has a minimum shoreline setback requirement of 40 feet, with greater setbacks mandated for smaller structures.

For now, though, the focus must be on safety. Northerly swells are due to arrive through New Year’s, resulting in more erosion and a heightened risk. Organizers of surf competitions — the Sunset Open set for mid-January, for instance — are wisely monitoring the public safety aspect of their events.

There’s the personal responsibility factor in this equation as well. Visitors to the North Shore should be aware that the scenic attractions of winter surf can be enjoyed. But taking too many personal risks on a cliff’s edge, or by putting others at risk, can turn a thing of beauty into a tragedy in a split second.