Maui Overnight Parking
Ban Questioned

BY BUCK QUAYLE

Maui Overnight Parking

It is illegal to park on any public street on Maui between 2 a.m. and 6 a.m.

This has been the case for as long as anyone can remember. But now some people are asking why.

According to Maui Police Chief Abraham Aiona, the law was passed for the convenience of streetsweepers.

To this, Capt. Kiichi Takahama of the Lahaina police station adds that the ordinance prevents theft, removes the possibility of drunken drivers hitting parked cars, and allows more room for emergency vehicles.

At the Maui Historic Commission meeting last week, Lahaina businessman Higgins Maddigan asked if alternate side overnight parking in Lahaina was possible.

Commission member Warren Hinton said he also likes the idea of permitting overnight parking every night on alternating sides of the street.

Maddigan said streetsweepers could schedule their operations to coincide with the parking pattern, sweeping the side of the street that is clear of cars.

Both Maddigan and Hinton said that the County, at the very least, should make a greater effort to inform tourists of the overnight parking prohibition.

Sam Kaai, acting Commission chairman, said traffic problems are not within the province of the Commission, and should be brought to the attention of the County government.

The biggest problem with public parking occurs around the banyan tree-Pioneer Inn area of Lahaina.

The Pioneer Inn, with 48 rooms and insufficient off-street parking, is the temporary home of many tourists. They often aren't aware of the Maui overnight parking restriction and, consequently, pick up a good number of citations.

Takahama said he has been averaging 500 traffic citations each month. Of these, some 300 are parking citations-most of them for overnight parking, and most of them from this area.

One of the most common complaints from those cited is a lack of signs in the town. But Takahama said there are about a dozen signs in the banyan tree area warning against overnight parking. He also stresses that a question concerning this regulation appears on driver's license tests.

Persons cited normally forfeit $2 bail at the District Court, and need not appear before a judge.