Hundreds gathered for Malaekahana Bike Path groundbreaking ceremony

KAHUKU—Hundreds gathered on Saturday, September 11 to witness the groundbreaking of the new Malaekahana Bike Path, which will run between Laie and Kahuku on the mauka side of Kamehameha Highway. The bike path is the first part of the Envision Laie project, part of which includes developing affordable housing and commercial areas to create sustainability in Koolauloa. The bike path will be approximately 1.5 miles long and is being constructed to support both the safety and health of the area’s residents.

According to EnvisionLaie.com, several hundred people gathered at the ceremony and watched Junior Primacio of Kahuku and Bobby Chang of Laie each start up their own backhoe and scoop a six-foot trench out of the cattle pasture near the entrance to Gunstock Ranch in Malaekahana, marking a link between the two communities.

The Envision Laie project has been a subject of controversy on the North Shore since its beginning in 2008. The project has a strong following of proponents, who claim the project will promote sustainability, and opponents who see the project as further development of the “country.”