North Shore Chamber of Commerce revives 20-year-old plan for walkways in Haleiwa

HALEIWA—The North Shore Chamber of Commerce (NSCC) is currently circulating a petition in hopes of reaching the 20-year-old goal of installing sidewalks in Haleiwa Town, something NSCC executive director Antya Miller calls their “third major effort” over the last two decades. The walkways, which according to Miller will interconnect the boat harbor, beach park, and Haleiwa’s commercial area, are just one part of the many improvements included in the Haleiwa Town Plan.

The NSCC is asking both island residents and visitors alike to sign the petition, which asks Mayor Mufi Hannemann to release $2 million in Capital Improvement Project (CIP) funding for the walkways and other improvements to Haleiwa town. According to the NSCC, a survey taken in Haleiwa showed that 92 percent of merchants supported the building of walkways. Approximately 400 business people, residents, and community leaders attended community planning workshops in the 1990s that gathered information for the plan’s initial draft.

“We drafted the Haleiwa Town Plan in ‘91,” said Miller, adding, “We have made several efforts to raise the money and begin the process for the walkways. The first stage was supported under the Harris Administration, but then Hannemann cancelled it. We’re not sure why. The age of the plan maybe?”

According to Miller, the walkways are planned to go from the Anahulu bridge to the twin bridges, excluding state land. “It just gets complicated working with State and County land,” she said.

The walkways would help relieve growing safety concerns for crowds of pedestrians who must walk on the shoulder of Kamehameha Highway through Haleiwa to visit shops, restaurants, and reach bus stops. In addition to the walkways, the town plan includes underground wiring, cross-walks, and other efforts to improve and restore Haleiwa Town. According to the NSCC website, the town plan had cost $30,000 to create, was paid for by grants and donations raised by NSCC, and is also part of the North Shore Sustainable Community Plan.

The Haleiwa Town Plan has been the guiding document for the North Shore Chamber of Commerce and was drafted by consultants from Berkeley, California who lived in the Haleiwa area for three months while developing the plan.

According to Miller, the NSCC was formed in 1981 and is also known as “Haleiwa Main Street.” Since they were founded, NSCC has completed several accomplishments including negotiating the bypass design in 1995, raised money to restore the Waialua Courthouse, raised awareness in the community and the Corps of Engineers to repair and repaint the bridge in 1993, and raised money for and installed the three surfer Haleiwa Town signs on the bypass.

The petition to support the installation of walkways in Haleiwa can be found here at http://www.gonorthshore.org/pdf/ID_Resolution_Petition2_4-10.pdf. For more information, visit the North Shore Chamber of Commerce website at http://www.gonorthshore.org/.