Time to begin discussing Puna lava viewing site

[AaronM]

We already have tour buses going super slow over the Steam Vent cracks, tour buses down at Kamaili, rental cars parked on the red road pavement, etc. Let's create a viewing spot near Lava Tree park and funnel them all over there.

[MarkD]

"Viewing the lava from land is definitely too dangerous. Everyone should be required to take a boat or helicopter at $250/visit."

Boats are too dangerous or can't give a good view anymore from the new safety distance. Everyone should be required to take a helicopter at $250/visit."

[TomK]

Please, one Kalakoa is enough!

[kalakoa]

$250/visit

It's not about the money -- remember, "all that GET goes to the State".

Boat/helicopter tours are obviously a convenient way for County to avoid liability -- it's well-established that neither the ocean nor the sky are "in the County".

[MarkD]

That's funny, Tom.

[MarkD]

T-H reports that Jack Tour's is closing--decline in tourism. More people losing jobs.

http://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2018...n-tourism/

Setting up lava viewing in Puna might have prevented this outcome. Perhaps lava-viewing critics will welcome the peace and quiet from fewer tourists.

[Chunkster]

As usual, our sclerotic county and state officials haven't thought things through enough to realize that there is a real danger of economic disaster in East Hawaii if the National Park stays closed for very long. Jack's going out of business is an early sign of distress, and there will be others. Thanks to a lack of quality facilities, our area is perhaps one of the least dependent on tourism in the state, but tourism is still a significant part of the economy. The future will be grim if somebody doesn't think of something soon.

I have more than one neighbor selling their home and moving far away while they can get top dollar for their homes. As one put it, "I'm getting out now before the bottom drops out." Even a realtor friend, usually ebullient about the market, said that she expects a period of higher prices while lava displaced homes are replaced and then a big crash when lots of people start losing their jobs. I hope these people are wrong, but their point of view makes some sense.

Meanwhile Harry Kim can't imagine a world in which we need less, and not more, county employees. That world may be coming sooner than anyone thinks.

[kalakoa]

Thanks to a lack of quality facilities

s/quality/any/

[MarkD]

County is said to be considering a lava viewing plan suggested by Puna resident Jason Twillman. He gives a good presentation here.

http://www.bigislandvideonews.com/2018/0...to-decide/

[Hotzcatz]

Some cities have a big Ferris wheel which they call an 'eye' - places such as the 'London Eye' or 'Orlando Eye'. Maybe one of those Ferris wheels would be a good lava viewing site. They could have enclosed cars to circle around on the Ferris wheel so SO2 wouldn't be a problem. Even after the lava stops, the 'eye' could still be an attraction.

We were over in Kailua-Kona today and the vog was bad. I'd not want to pay money to visit there with that level of vog. VNP is closed for now, so no tourists there, either.

Our area, Hamakua coast, is clear and beautiful, but we don't really have any tourist destinations here other than Waipio Valley & Akaka Falls as well as a few botanical gardens. That's not enough to draw in enough tourists to keep all our businesses afloat that rely on tourist income. The main draw of this island is the Volcanoes National Park and the ability to see a live volcano. If there were some way to let everyone (hey, the folks that live here want to see it, too) see the lava, then the whole island would benefit.

If we don't get the tourists back, there will be less income and less County taxes collected and less County services for everyone.

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