Another segment of the Hilo Bayfront Trails project has been completed, further connecting downtown Hilo with the Bayfront soccer fields.
The project since 2016 has been gradually building out a network of pedestrian trails in and around downtown Hilo, with several phases already completed.
Hilo Bayfront Trails Inc. celebrated on Thursday the completion of the project’s latest phase — referred to as Phase 2-A — which built a 920-foot path connecting Pauahi Street to the entrance to the Bayfront soccer fields, along with the addition of ADA-compliant parking spaces and ADA access at the nearby Ben Franklin parking lot. The phase also added a set of soccer bleachers along the new trail.
Hilo Bayfront Trails Inc. president Matthias Kusch said funding for this phase was particularly difficult, as it involved a Federal Highway Administration grant through its Transportation Alternatives program.
“It’s a very onerous process to deal with,” Kusch said. “These TA grants are very cumbersome.”
Natasha Soriana, planner with the county Planning Department, said TA grants are typically awarded for planning purposes, and that this particular TA grant was the first to be awarded to a construction project.
Despite the difficulties, however, Kusch said the phase was completed under budget at a final cost of about $762,000.
County Parks and Recreation Director Maurice Messina said the trails already have improved the Bayfront area.
“The whole park is so much cleaner now,” Messina said. “It’s really transformed the character of the whole park.”
With this latest phase completed, Kusch already is looking ahead to future phases.
One of the project’s ultimate goals is a contiguous path all the way from downtown Hilo to the University of Hawaii campus through Wailoa River State Recreation Area. Kusch said a path connecting the soccer fields to the recreation area would be the next step, and would eventually connect to additional paths to be built along the Waiakea Canal.
“It’s all funding-based, though,” Kusch said. “Everyone’s supportive of it, we’ve got the county administration on board, but it’s hard to predict where the state funding will go next year. … There’s a lot of grants, and the feds are dying to get more people on bikes.”
Kusch added that Mayor Mitch Roth and Gov. Josh Green are both supportive of the project.
Another phase might build out trails to Banyan Drive, but Kusch said the state and county governments have expressed renewed interest in a Banyan Drive Master Plan that might complicate further trail plans for the area.
Meanwhile, Kusch said residents around Hale and Punawai streets up Waianuenue Avenue have expressed interest in pedestrian trails of their own, and added that Hilo Councilwoman Jenn Kagiwada was similarly supportive. However, he said there are not currently any specific plans for such a project.
Email Michael Brestovansky at mbrestovansky@hawaiitribune-herald.com.