It's a double-edged sword. But similar to my position on the calls from state authorities to avoid travel to Maui in the aftermath of the Lahaina fires, the calls I saw from some (to include residents) demanding that tourists stay out of the north shore were well-intended, but ultimately shortsighted. While many of the demands touched on the physical/logistical challenges of having an influx of tourists on the roads with recovery efforts taking place, quite a few of the demands were from people simply angry that others would dare continue on with vacation plans while residents were struggling. But such cries ignored the fact that (1) many on the north shore and elsewhere lacked flood insurance and (2) need money from their local jobs/businesses to fund repairs and rebuild.

I am curious to know how and whether HPD is in the area helping with traffic flow, which can help alleviate many of the concerns around clogged roads. Even during normal times, many of the traffic jams up on the north shore are caused by pedestrians constantly crossing back and forth on Kam Highway to get to and from the beach. Then there's this four-way stop sign getting closer to where they have the Spartan race that causes backups.