LAHAINA – In 2012-13, the community had an opportunity to plan a beautification and revitalization of the Lahaina Harbor-front area. Over a series of nine months, numerous public meetings were held at the Pioneer Inn, and input was heard from a wide cross section of the community. The summary of the community’s ideas was to bring reverence to the historic and cultural sites, beautify the area, reduce congestion and make it safe for all users.

With this concept in place, the mayor was invited to a walk-through of the project. He was impressed with the proposal, and he agreed to put funds in the budget. In 2014, funding for Phase I of the project was received and work began.

Before starting construction on any project, there are months and months of design work, permitting, engineering and a host of other activities. The Lahaina Restoration Foundation staff has been busy for over a year meeting with consultants, developing monitoring plans for archeological work, applying for permits, etc. Finally, we are almost ready to start construction!

Phase I of the project will encompass the area between the harbor restrooms (just north of the ramp) and the hau tree by the loading dock. This area will be transformed with two new shade trellises with benches and small tables underneath, and puhuehue (beach morning glory) climbing up the posts to cover the top. A new, large stone planter will be built utilizing the rocks from the existing planters. This planter will be built to feature the existing foxtail palms and a large bed of Maui rose plants.

Additional native plants and trees will be added, and most of the existing trees will remain or be repositioned. The kou trees will be replaced with new, healthy kou trees. New gooseneck street lamps will be installed, and the trellises will be enhanced with additional lighting. The entire area will be paved with brick – like pavers – and wooden bollards will provide a barrier between vehicle traffic and pedestrians.

As we all know, the Lahaina Harbor area is the most congested and busiest place in all of West Maui. Unfortunately, it will get busier and more congested during construction, but we are doing everything possible to make this project progress as smoothly as possible.

During construction, we will be sending out weekly e-mails to surrounding businesses, the school, the library, as well as boaters and boat companies, bus companies and others (to request weekly construction updates, please send an e-mail to info@lahainarestoration.org). We will also have frequent updates through social media and Lahaina News.

The entire construction process is slated to take five months. Disruption and delays will happen, and we urge everyone to be patient, avoid bringing vehicles into the area if possible and focus on the positive change this will bring to our Lahaina waterfront.