South Point regulation

[Mac2017]

http://www.westhawaiitoday.com/2018/03/0...ge-ka-lae/


This absolutely needs to be done. It's a disgrace how much of a mess it is back there.

[Rob Tucker]

That mess is a measure of DHHL's competence.

I'm not against better management of the area but I have no faith in DHHL to accomplish anything positive. Look at their history of accomplishing nothing and spending lots of money to do it.

[kalakoa]

"has become a playground" for people who go off-road and "tear up the landscape,"

County built lots of parks during the Kenoi debt binge ... but none of them for off-roading, so people made their own.

Then again, where would you put such a park, since it can't be on sacred land, nor anywhere near people's houses...

[i]Another alternative was to close the DHHL-owned portion of South Point Road and prohibit vehicles from entering entirely. /i]

Why not just subdivide South Point into ag lots that nobody can qualify to homestead? This strategy is obviously working quite well, just look at all the empty DHHL subdivisions.

[HereOnThePrimalEdge]

DHHL... Look at their history of accomplishing nothing and spending lots of money

This would probably expand on the other part of their history, collecting a lot of money (entrance fees) and accomplishing nothing.

Recycle Puna. Humans, although probably not you personally, have already left 400,000 pounds of trash on the moon. - YouTube's Half As Interesting

[MarkD]

Controlling natural areas with access gates and roaming officials is generally a pain for users. But it can be necessary. A quote from the story:

Specifically, the agency points at heavy use of trucks, all-terrain vehicles...destroyed sites and caused widespread sand and soil erosion.

It is rarely tourists doing this damage; it is residents. There is some legitimate need for fisherman and hunters to travel to distant places in nature. It has been an issue for them.

Often, though, the people who want to drive big 4 wheelers all over the place are neither hunters nor fishermen (or hunting or fishing at that time). We see them at regular beach parks, where they are not content to park in the lot like everyone else. They drive over barriers to get closer to the ocean.

That's why we see boulders lined up in so many places. Quite the local custom.

[Kapoho Joe]

How many times have you been to South Point, Mark? Every time I go there I see at least one rental jeep (green sands too). Restricting off road access is nothing new, it happens everywhere that too many people begin to encroach on nature. This is but one of the many growing pains that Hawaii County will face as the population explodes. Oh, and the people who insist on getting past the boulders and as close to the ocean as possible? They remember when the boulders weren't needed and weren't there. >Cue the band to play 'Waimanalo Blues'<

[Seeb]

If you want to do anything but pour money into a black hole take it away from DHHL.
The county actually seems to do pretty well at Parks ( the only thing maybe). At least the money is a little easier to track.

[MarkD]

Kapoho Joe "How many times have you been to South Point, Mark? Every time I go there I see at least one rental jeep (green sands too)."

OK, Joe, I appreciate your point. I was talking more about the 4 wheelers with giant tires. They used to drive out to the house at Richardson's Beach Park until they put boulders by the parking lot.

The first rocks, only 2 feet high, didn't work; they just drove over them. County workers had to line up 4-foot boulders. I've seen similar things in other places. Kaena Point on Oahu, similar to South Point in some respects, had a huge problem with 4-wheel drivers determined to breach the rock barriers.

Amazing how much effort these guys put into doing this; I've seen them build ramps so they can drive over walls into closed-to-vehicles areas.

"Cue the band to play 'Waimanalo Blues" I'm sort of a nature nut and always thought that off-road vehicles are mostly a blight on nature. Just my bias.

I guess it is true that losing the right to drive loud, fume-belching vehicles, stereos thumping out bass, wherever you want along Hawaii's shorelines will be sorely missed by a large local contingent. I'll withhold further comment.

[Kapoho Joe]

Being told no is hard to accept. Especially when it comes to access that existed before. I'm sure there is room off of Saddle Road somewhere that can be the designated 4X4 area. That way they can go be loud and smelly all by themselves!

[MarkD]

It is a tough issue. So much nicer to have roads to drive to isolated beaches like Green Sand. I wouldn't want that taken away, indeed it is essential. Here is a clip of the ride.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EDaq0c1rU4w

You can see places where people have gone off the road, damaging environments. They're going to have to figure out how to control this.