Sugimura calls for immediate action to address public safety concerns along Pūlehu and Hansen roads; County administration responds

Maui County Council Vice-Chair Yuki Lei Sugimura is calling on the County administration to respond immediately to what she is calling “serious public safety concerns” along Pūlehu Road and Hansen Road. The roadways are both heavily traveled and used daily by Central Maui and Upcountry residents. 

Records provided by the Maui Police Department show that the department received 1,023 total calls for service in the Pūlehu Road and Hansen Road area between July 1, 2025, and May 4, 2026, Sugimura said in a news release.  

Sugimura notes that both roads carry substantial daily traffic and have minimal roadside shoulders or pedestrian pathways.  Vehicles and belongings have encroached onto portions of the roadway, and individuals have been observed entering the path of oncoming traffic, she said.

The situation along Pūlehu Road and Hansen Road comes amid a broader increase in unsheltered houselessness countywide.  The 2026 Maui County Point-in-Time Count Topline Report found that the unsheltered population increased by 40% between 2024 and 2026, while overall numbers remained essentially flat.

In 2022, during a previous administration, the County Council passed Ordinance No. 5419, enabling a pilot program that would allow Maui County residents experiencing houselessness to sleep in their vehicles overnight at designated County-managed parking lots.  Nearly four years later, Sugimura says that no safe overnight parking site has been established.

To address the immediate danger along Pūlehu Road and Hansen Road, Vice-Chair Sugimura introduced a formal Maui County Council resolution urging the Administration to immediately address the “serious public safety concerns” on Pūlehu Road and Hansen Road, and to expedite the implementation of the managed overnight parking project.  Sugimura also called for affected individuals to be connected with available shelter, behavioral health resources, and other support services. 

Administration responds to concerns, identifies path forward

Spokesperson Laksmi Abraham, Director of Government Relations and Public Affairs with the Office of the Mayor responded to Maui Now’s request for comment, specifically to the proposed Resolution 26-150:

“The Bissen Administration is actively addressing the concerns identified in Resolution 26-150 regarding conditions along Pūlehu and Hansen roads. It has been the Administration’s position to protect the health and safety of individuals experiencing homelessness, nearby communities and the traveling public, and significant work is already under way.

While Ordinance 5419 was enacted in Sept. 2022, efforts to establish Safe Parking began under the previous Administration. The J. Walter Cameron Center in Wailuku was initially identified as the preferred location, but the proposal did not move forward following concerns raised by Council members regarding the site and funding process, as well as requirements for formal procurement.

Since taking office in 2023, the Bissen Administration has worked to move Safe Parking from authorization to implementation, including completing the procurement process, securing a contractor and advancing a new site for the program.

The Administration now has a two-track path forward. An interim Safe Parking site is being advanced on a County of Maui parcel off Pūlehu Road to provide a nearer-term, managed alternative for individuals currently living in their vehicles, while the County simultaneously works to secure a permanent, purpose-built Safe Parking site in Kahului. Site assessments, engineering and infrastructure planning are under way to move both efforts forward.

“We recognize the urgency of addressing the conditions along Pūlehu and Hansen roads, and our focus is on protecting public safety while creating a safe alternative for those who are living there,” Mayor Richard Bissen said. “With the interim site now moving forward, I have directed our team to move as quickly as possible to get Safe Parking at Pūlehu operational, while we continue advancing a permanent solution in Kahului.”

The County estimates that the interim site will be operational within six weeks, weather permitting. With multiple tropical systems currently approaching Hawaiʻi, significant weather could impact site preparation and implementation.

Significant progress is being made toward getting the County’s Safe Parking program operational despite other severe weather events. The program was delayed after the previously identified site sustained significant flooding during the March 2026 Kona Low storms, requiring the County to reassess the location rather than move forward with a site that could not safely support the program.

For individuals who are not living in vehicles, the Administration is also pursuing additional temporary sheltering options, including an interim Safe Sleep program modeled after successful efforts in other counties.

Over the past three months, County teams and partners have conducted more than 60 outreach and engagement efforts along Pūlehu and Hansen roads, completed more than 25 cleanups, removed more than 10 tons of waste and debris and 56 abandoned vehicles, and helped three individuals transition from the encampment into permanent housing. The County is also expanding behavioral health outreach in partnership with Aloha House and MPD’s CORE team, bringing programs addressing psychiatric and substance use issues directly into the field.

The Department of Human Concerns considers homeless encampments a health and safety concern and prioritizes resources based on conditions on the ground and available data, including SeeClickFix reports, the annual Point-in-Time Count, constituent concerns and identified risks to individuals and the surrounding community. Those factors have made Pūlehu and Hansen roads an area of significant County attention and resources.”

Calls and response to action and urgency

“I want to be clear: removing vehicles and other roadway hazards is necessary to address urgent public safety concerns along Pūlehu and Hansen Roads, but it does not address the root causes of houselessness,” said Sugimura.  

She continued saying: “Long-term solutions require compassion, coordination, and consistency.  But the facts here demand action.  Over a thousand calls for service in this area in less than a year, combined with the roadway hazards visible today, make this an active public safety issue that requires an immediate response while longer-term solutions are developed.”

Sugimura emphasized that the risk extends to both those living along Pūlehu and Hansen Roads and motorists traveling the roads.

“Unhoused individuals are living inches from heavily traveled roads, and drivers are navigating those same roads every day,” Sugimura said.  “We should not wait for a serious injury or fatality before acting on the information the County already has.”

“Community members have been raising these concerns for months,” Sugimura added.  “The County has the tools and the authority to act.  What’s missing is the urgency.”

Abraham said:

“The Administration’s approach is focused on addressing immediate public safety concerns while establishing safe, managed alternatives that connect people with behavioral health treatment, services and pathways to permanent housing. The work outlined in Resolution 26-150 was already under way prior to its introduction and will continue with urgency. The administration looks forward to working collaboratively with the Council on any legislative actions, funding or other support necessary to help move these projects forward as quickly and responsibly as possible.”

Sugimura and Bissen are frontrunners in the race for Mayor. Both edged out competition from a crowded field during the Primary Election, and advance to the General Election in November.