Please Participate in Superferry Protest And Traffic Simulation Demonstration

MA'ALAEA, HI -- When 110 cars drive off the Superferry and onto Ka'ahumanu Avenue each morning while another 110 cars wait to drive onto the ferry, exactly what sort of traffic jam will result?

That's the question that Pacific Whale Foundation and Maui Tomorrow Foundation, Inc. hope to answer with a live traffic simulation that will be conducted on Friday, June 1 from 9:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. The traffic simulation will be conducted in conjunction with a sign-waving protest along Ka'ahumanu Avenue.

Volunteer drivers with cars are sought for this simulation, along with walkers who are willing to lend a hand and wave signs. To sign up, please call Pacific Whale Foundation at 249-8811.

"This is the first time that a traffic simulation of this type has been conducted on Maui," says Greg Kaufman, President of Pacific Whale Foundation. "We think it's important for Maui residents, visitors and our lawmakers to understand the impact of this extra traffic on Ka'ahumanu Avenue each day."

"Everyone needs to be aware that 110 cars are projected to drive off the Superferry each morning, with another 110 waiting to drive on, plus an estimated additional 40 cars arriving to unload passengers who will be walking on to the ferry," said Kaufman.

Maui County Mayor Charmaine Tavares, along with representatives of the Hawaii Department of Transportation and Hawaii Superferry, are being invited to witness the traffic simulation.

"Traffic is just one of a long list of unaddressed issues that relate to the Superferry," says Irene Bowie, Executive Director of Maui Tomorrow Foundation, Inc. "We hope to get 220 cars in all -- so please take an hour on Friday morning to drive your car in this landmark event."

How to register for Superferry Traffic Simulation:

Call 249-8811 (Pacific Whale Foundation). Wait till after all the phone prompts.
 
The operator will take your name and let you know where to stage:
  - End of Puunene Ave, next to Cary& Eddy’s Hideaway Restaurant ,
  - At back of  Maui Mall parking lot, near DMV, or
  - At Kahului Shopping Center parking lot (old Ah Fook’s)
 
From staging areas cars will be given numbered signs (provided by Pacific Whale Foundation)
- Traffic simulating Superferry off-loading will flow:
from N. Puunene Ave. onto S. Puunene Ave.,
and left onto Hana Hwy. heading east.
- Traffic simulating vehicles loading the Supergerry will flow:
from S. Puunene Ave. onto N. Puunene Ave.,
and west on Hana Hwy onto N. Puunene Ave.
Staging begins at 9 am 

Traffic simulation to mimic impacts

The Maui News
Saturday, May 26, 2007
By MELISSA TANJI, Staff Writer

KAHULUI - The Pacific Whale Foundation and Maui Tomorrow Foundation will conduct a traffic simulation of what they think roads will be like when the Hawaii Superferry begins operations at Kahului Harbor.

The groups are looking for volunteers with cars that can conduct the simulation from 9:30 to 10:30 a.m. Friday on Puunene and Kaahumanu avenues and surrounding areas.

A sign-waving rally will be held at the same time along Kaahumanu Avenue.

Irene Bowie, executive director of Maui Tomorrow, said she hopes to get 220 cars to participate to illustrate the average number of cars that could be departing on and disembarking from the Superferry when it arrives at Kahului Harbor daily. The Superferry is designed to carry 200 passenger vehicles and up to 15 large trucks.

The demonstration will also have volunteer pedestrians to simulate passengers getting off and on the ferry as part of the demonstration on Friday, Bowie said. The 340-foot-long Superferry will carry up to 900 passengers.

"We want to make it close to what it will be like as possible," Bowie said.

"We think it's important for Maui residents, visitors and our lawmakers to understand the impact of this extra traffic on Kaahumanu Avenue each day," said Greg Kaufman, president of the Pacific Whale Foundation.

Hawaii Superferry officials said Thursday that they have delayed the July launch of the vessel for at least a month as it is still undergoing Coast Guard inspections at its manufacturer's site in Mobile, Ala.

"The Alakai is the first vessel of its kind that is being built in the U.S. by Austal. An important requirement for Alakai's entry into service is the completion of the United States Coast Guard's detailed certification and inspection process, which is in its final stages in Mobile," said John Garibaldi, president and CEO of Hawaii Superferry.

Improvements to accommodate the arrival of the vessel are under way at harbors on Oahu, Kauai and Maui. At Kahului Harbor, the state Department of Transportation is installing a massive barge on the end of Pier 2 that will serve as a loading ramp for vehicles getting off and on the Superferry.

Ferry service will commence with a daily roundtrip between Maui and Oahu and a six-day-a-week service between Kauai and Oahu. A second ferry is scheduled to begin service in 2009, providing roundtrips to the Big Island.

According to the Hawaii Superferry schedule filed with the state Public Utilities Commission, the ferry will arrive in Kahului at 9:30 a.m. daily and depart for Honolulu at 11 a.m.

The departure area for passengers and cars will be at the end of Puunene Avenue across from the First Hawaiian Bank Kahului branch.

For the traffic simulation, Bowie said the cars that participate will travel up and down Puunene Avenue to demonstrate departing and arriving traffic. Cars will also travel on Kaahumanu Avenue to turn onto Puunene Avenue to simulate other traffic heading to the Superferry dock.

Bowie said she has notified police, fire and other emergency responders and the Mayor's Office of the plans for the simulation.

Maui Tomorrow was among parties filing a suit in 2nd Circuit Court asking that the Department of Transportation be required to prepare an environmental impact statement for Kahului Harbor improvements to accommodate the Superferry. While Judge Joel August initially denied motions to require an EIS, he has taken notice of projects implemented by the state to accommodate the Superferry that were not included in the DOT's arguments against a need for an impact statement.