TMT Work to Resume Says Ige!

[kalakoa]

http://www.mountgraham.org/content/makin...unt-graham

"History repeats self; film at 11."

[Kapoho Joe]

World getting smaller - more people fighting over less resources - welcome to the new normal.

[Guest]

Amazing how much more traffic goes to the summit daily, weekly, or monthly. For every hundred observatory workers who travel to the top of Maunakea, their is another thousand tourists or more who also visit the summit. If 300,000 tourists visit the summit a year now, how many more can we expect once this controversial TMT project is complete, or another couple hundred employees are at work for the tmt? 20% of the vehicles going up daily are from observatory employees who usually drive up alone. While many tourists drive up in rental cars or jam packed high costing vans that seat more than a dozen. Jmo here, I believe 90% of all who visit the summit these days are tourists. So Who takes care of the now highly used public road to the summit, and how much does it really cost to keep up?

With so much added traffic going up and down the mountain daily, could some local folks open up a couple of food or fruit stands along this highly used public road? Maybe a nice locally owned restaurant(fine dining)could replace an unused or out dated observatory atop Maunakea, or be squeezed in the very roomy TMT? The state of hawaii must know such a project like the Tmt will be attracting hundreds of thousands of new additional tourists to the summit yearly. Could local food trucks be allowed to the visitor center in the future, or will these types of local businesses be frowned on? I guess what I want to know, Is Maunakea's summit open only for observatory scientists and state operated tourism, or can local businesses be entertained as well in the growing future of exploiting Maunakea and its rich history?.

[kalakoa]

Who takes care of the now highly used public road

Not really a "public" road; State could end-run the issue with a checkpoint.

Maunakea's summit open only for observatory scientists and state operated tourism

In theory, open to any activity which can secure a Use Permit from DLNR .... good luck with that.

[HereOnThePrimalEdge]

open up a couple of food or fruit stands... Maybe a nice locally owned restaurant(fine dining)could replace an unused or out dated observatory atop Maunakea... Could local food trucks be allowed to the visitor center...

It's either all or nothing? And if it's all the solution is to offer a food court on the premises? Why didn't we think of this sooner?

[kalakoa]

More desecration on the mountain, and somehow no protests on this one:

https://bigislandnow.com/2015/06/22/rest...tion-area/

[Kapoho Joe]

"Kahu Moses Crabbe blessed the facility, located next to the administration building at the entrance of the park, during a traditional ceremony held on Wednesday."

So it's all good right?

[leilanidude]

http://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/news...ffic-count

According to Mauna Kea support services, 4,695 vehicles were counted in May, with about 940 being attributed to UH and telescope operators, who drive vehicles equipped with radio tags that allow them to be closely tracked.

The remaining 3,755 vehicles were associated with either tourism, cultural and recreational use, or a few contractors who haven’t yet been equipped with the radio tags, officials said.
---------------------

Breaking this down a bit...
3700 vehicles went up in May that were not observatory staff/contractors/cultural what-ever use.

There are 31 days in May. That is about 120 vehicles per day, or 5 per hour. That isn't squat.

I also suspect that way more than the usual number of "cultural" drives took place to the summit area than is normal due to the current situation.

[rainyjim]

It wouldnt be a bad thing to have some sort of car wash / air compressor / UV light 'clean stop station' before entering state and national parks in vehicles which could be hitchhiking all sorts of unwanted specimens along for the ride!

The cost could prove to be enormous but hey entry fees are a reality and protecting / conserving the environment is a priority now-a-days. Malama da aina right? Can't forget that just because it might cost you a couple bucks to go somewhere that was once free.

[PunaMauka2]

i wonder if the rocks brought up from Kona side yesterday by protestors/protectors to hastily make the sacred ahu blocking the access road to the TMT construction/destruction site went through so scrupulous an inspection?