County Council Unanimously Expands No-Parking Zone Along Aliʻi Drive at Kahaluʻu Beach Park

About 180 feet of shoulder parking along Aliʻi Drive at Kahaluʻu Beach Park will be converted to "no parking any time" zones, wiping out roughly eight spaces, after the Hawaiʻi County Council voted unanimously on March 18 to pass Bill 129 on first reading.

The second and final reading for Bill 129 is scheduled for April 8 at the County Council meeting in Hilo.

The safety case for the change is rooted in geography as much as volume. Hilo Councilman Dennis "Fresh" Onishi noted that "the shoulders aren't wide enough to share parked cars and the walking pedestrians," adding that drivers approaching the park won't need to worry about pedestrians walking along the roadway's edge once the bill takes effect. Posted speed limit signs approaching the park from the north and south already reduce speeds from 25 mph to 15 mph, with marked crosswalks at the intersection of Makolea Street and in front of Kahaluu Surf and Sea.

The stretch compounds danger because of where it sits on the road. The park is located just beyond a partial blind turn where, according to council members' past testimony, drivers have "no line of sight" — a condition that turns parked cars and pedestrians trying to reach park entrances into a collision risk every day of the week.

Kahaluʻu Bay welcomes more than 400,000 visitors annually, making it West Hawaiʻi's most popular tourist destination. That foot traffic funnels through a stretch of Aliʻi Drive, the main commercial thoroughfare in downtown Kona, where shoulder parking has historically invited drivers to stop short of the designated lot and walk against traffic.

One council member described the effort as the product of years of community pressure. "I just want to express my gratitude to council member (James) Hustace and the administration and Mr. Takaba for continuing to work so diligently to listen to the cries of not only the community but community policing, to create parking signage and policies that ensure the health and safety of people in this area," said Villegas. "There have been a number of complex issues that we continue to try to navigate and have come at them from all different angles for the last seven years."

Hilo Councilman Dennis "Fresh" Onishi agreed that the road shoulders along that stretch of Aliʻi Drive are the root of the issue.

Eight council members voted in favor of Bill 129. Kaʻu Councilwoman Michelle Galimba was absent and excused.

The April 8 final reading in Hilo will be the last procedural step before the no-parking designation can take effect. The county has not yet announced a timeline for signage installation or when enforcement will begin.