Kaua‘i’s coastal path meets resistance at Wailua

As the person who tends the heiau that line Wailua bay and river, Jim Alalem has a special sense about the region’s cultural value.

“It’s the most sacred area on Kauai,” he said. “No place else on Kauai but there were kings born. That’s where the first drums came up from Tahiti. Most of the history and legends came out of that area. They should leave it alone, and leave in intact.”

Instead, the County of Kauai plans to install a 14-foot-wide wooden boardwalk on the beach as part of its 16-mile Ke Ala Hele Makalae coastal multi-use path project on the island’s east side.

Doug Haigh, the Department of Public Works’ building division chief, acknowledged that at the design meeting for the path, “people were expressing concerns, saying it’s a sacred beach and we shouldn’t do anything. But there’s a highway there. It’s not like we’re introducing a new element there.”

Opponents, however, say that while there’s nothing they can do about Kuhio Highway, they’re motivated by the desire to, as Alalem phrased it, “save what’s left.”

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(Source: Joan Conrow, Honolulu Weekly)