Kailua-Kona’s Alii Drive to become 1-way in 90-day trial
COURTESY PHOTO
An aerial view Thursday shows a portion of Alii Drive becoming a one-way street with free parking options.
LAURA RUMINSKI / WEST HAWAII TODAY / 2023
The Big Island thoroughfare Alii Drive will become a one-way street in a 90-day trial period in hopes to provide more parking for residents and businesses there. Locals and visitors stroll through vendors at Street Eats, a Kailua Village Food Truck Festival on Alii Drive.
Hawaii County will add free parking on Alii Drive — the main road in Kailua-Kona — on Thursday by turning a portion of the road into a one-way street.
Forty-six free stalls will overtake the northbound (mauka) lane of Alii Drive between Kailua Pier and Hualalai Road in an effort to improve parking access for the Kona Historic Business District.
The coastal road will remain a southbound-only, one-way street for a 90-day trial period while the county assesses any changes in traffic congestion or the need to synchronize any of the stoplights.
“This pilot project grew out of community concerns over the lack of affordable parking in Kailua Village,” Mayor Kimo Alameda said. “By providing free parking along Alii Drive, we can create a more vibrant and accessible community for our residents and businesses.”
Ross Wilson, executive director of the Kailua Village Business Improvement District, said community members at the parking meetings he’s attended were “excited that Mayor Alameda and his administration are trying to find a solution to add more free parking” in the shopping area, where privately owned lots charge $12 to $21 hourly for parking.
“There’s no easy solutions (because) there’s no county or state land around historic Kailua Village, so I give the administration, especially Deputy Managing Director Merrick Nishimoto and acting Public Works Director Neil Azevedo, kudos for leading the effort,” Wilson said. “I’m very happy with it.”
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Wilson said the change of making Alii Drive one-way will “take some getting used to for a lot of community members” and is likely to cause some traffic disruption. He added that he’s eager to see how the 90-day trial period goes, and remains confident that Alameda’s administration will develop a “Plan B that is workable for this historic village” if the road changes starting Thursday can’t be a permanent solution.
The addition of a mix of straight and angled parking stalls will be done through lines painted by the Department of Public Works, requiring no construction. The county requires that all 45-degree-angled stalls be reversed into to give the driver a better view of oncoming traffic when exiting.
