HONOLULU (AP) — Residents on Oahu’s North Shore built a 70-foot fence to deter visitors from parking on their private road to access a popular beach. ADVERTISING HONOLULU (AP) — Residents on Oahu’s North Shore built a 70-foot fence to
HONOLULU (AP) — Residents on Oahu’s North Shore built a 70-foot fence to deter visitors from parking on their private road to access a popular beach.
One resident said he often can’t get out of his driveway because there are too many people blocking his path.
“How would you feel to have 1,200 people standing in your driveway every day?” said Dr. Carl Hodel, who collected $4,000 from eight residents along Pohaku Loa Way to build the fence two weeks ago.
There are many other ways to access Laniakea Beach from the public Kamehameha Highway, Hodel said.
City officials warned 10 property owners who share ownership of Pohaku Loa Way that if they don’t remove the fence by Oct. 16 they’ll be fined because they didn’t get the proper permits.
Five of the 10 property owners live as far away as California, Utah and Australia.
But the homeowners want to build a rock wall instead because vandals recently cut through chunks of their wooden fence.
A state law ensures that beaches are open to everyone. The residents insist they’re not violating this law because they built the fence on their own properties.
The volume of visitors causes a safety issue, and tour buses ignore the “no parking” signs posted on their private road, residents said.
“It’s just too dangerous,” said Diane Peck. “Tourists come leaping out all of the time. They don’t even look. People have already been hit.”