Lanikai straining under burden of its popularity

Jenny Wong’s biggest worry on Wednesday — her daughter’s wedding day — had nothing to do with the ceremony itself. It was the traffic in her Lanikai neighborhood.

“I was worried (President Barack) Obama would be stopping for shave ice today,” and wedding guests might get delayed by traffic backups tied to the first family’s motorcade, said Wong, 58.

Had Obama stopped at Island Snow Hawaii, one of his usual vacation stops near Kalapawai Market and Kailua Beach Park, holiday traffic in Lanikai would have snarled farther into Kailua .

The bride, Brittany Wong, 37, who was getting ready for her wedding at Mid Pacific Country Club in Lanikai, said she once had to hang out for an hour in Kailua while the president and the first family had shave ice.

“It’s frightening if there was a medical emergency,” she said, referring to the difficulty emergency vehicles would have navigating clogged single-lane roads. “If someone had a heart attack, they wouldn’t survive.”

Area residents maintain that Lanikai’s popularity has soared since TripAdvisor dubbed its beach the world’s best a few years ago. Also, a coastal science professor known as Dr. Beach, who ranks public beaches in the United States — based on best sand and water quality, environmental management and amenities — and others have spotlighted Lanikai as a top beach.

Willy B., who declined to give his full name, citing privacy concerns, has lived in a Lanikai home that has been in his family since 1943. He said, “I literally sat on that porch and watched the world streaming in. Before all you would see is your neighbors walking by. Now the world is walking by,” including visitors from the mainland as well as Japan, China, Europe, Brazil and elsewhere.

The tiny neighborhood of Lanikai is inundated during the holidays with visitors driving in, but many also walk or bike in. The city erects no-parking signs during the holidays along the beach side of Mokulua Drive, as well as Aalapapa Drive, which runs parallel to it, and some side streets. A parking ban is in effect today through Sunday.

“Too many people trying to get to that beach,” Willy B. said. “They’re choking all the side streets. … Kailua is the new Waikiki destination.

“It has gotten better when they put up no-parking signs. People were parking in the bike lane.”

Willy B. said his son was nearly struck while cycling when he had to ride around someone parked in the bike lane with the car door open.

On Wednesday, repairs to a water main at the entrance to Lanikai required the closure of one lane, exacerbating the situation further. Residents said the incident marked the fourth water main break this year in the area.

Mary Sanchez, a five-year Lanikai resident, said, “We bought electric bikes so we can get in and out.” It came in handy on Tuesday when they had a leaky toilet at their home and her husband had to ride out to the hardware store.

Sanchez said while trying to get home from Costco on Tuesday she got stuck in standstill traffic three houses from her home. So she unloaded her groceries while waiting for traffic to move. “It took eight minutes to go three houses,” she said.

The couple also delayed dinner plans due to the traffic.

Sanchez said she doesn’t have the answer to the traffic , but ticketing and towing has helped.

Some area residents maintain that traffic stretches as far back as the intersection of Kailua Road and South Kalaheo Avenue, where the Kailua Beach Shopping Center is located. Island Snow Hawaii and a kayak rental business operate out of that center, and many of the patrons and others cross Kalaheo to get to and from the beach.

During the holidays, a police officer is posted at that intersection to stop traffic every time a pedestrian wants to cross, Sanchez said. She suggested that installing a traffic light at the site, rather than relying on police assistance, might improve traffic flow.