IUCN WORLD CONSERVATION CONGRESS HAWAII 2016 JOINT NEWS RELEASE

Road closures and planning for O‘ahu residents

News Release from City and County of Honolulu August 26, 2016

The World Conservation Congress will be held in Honolulu from September 1-10, 2016, at venues including the Hawaii Convention Center and the Neal S. Blaisdell Center. The Congress will bring together more than 6,000 delegates from 170 countries to discuss the most challenging issues for conservation.

“We are really excited to be hosting this World Conservation Conference in Honolulu for the first time in the United States of America,” said Mayor Kirk Caldwell. “The island of O‘ahu will be impacted by climate change and sea level rise in the coming decades, and having world experts on conservation here with our Oahu born and raised President Barack Obama is a once in a lifetime opportunity for our community. Mahalo to drivers for their patience during the conference. Please avoid the area around the Blaisdell Center Wednesday and Thursday as traffic backups are expected.”

O‘ahu residents are asked to plan ahead for road closures, traffic, security, pedestrian access, and park closures that could affect their communities. Various security related closures will occur from Tuesday night, August 30 through Saturday, September 10. Among the biggest impacts will be restrictions around the Blaisdell Wednesday, August 31 and Thursday, September 1 that are expected to affect vehicular traffic, pedestrian sidewalk access, and parking.

Click here to download closure maps. List of closures below:

Traffic and pedestrian advisories around the Neal S. Blaidsell Center

Installation of traffic control devices on Kapiolani Blvd. and Ward Ave. will occur Tuesday night, August 30 at 10 p.m. through Wednesday morning, August 31 at 5 a.m.

• When completed, all ewa bound lanes of Kapiolani Blvd. between Kamake’e St. and Ward Ave. will remain closed until Friday, September 2, 2016.
• In addition, the mauka sidewalk between Kamake’e St. and Ward Ave., and the Ward Ave. Koko head sidewalk between Kapiolani Blvd. and King St. will be closed to pedestrian access until Friday, September 2, 2016.

Beginning Wednesday, August 31 at 9 a.m., crews will install French Barricades along Ward Ave. and King Street. Sidewalks along King St. and Ward Ave fronting Blaisdell will be closed.

On Thursday, September 1, the day of the opening ceremony, the following road closures will be in effect from 2:30 a.m. to 2 p.m.:

• Victoria St. CLOSED between Beretania St. & King St.
• Victoria St. makai bound between Kinau St and Beretania St. must turn right onto Beretania St.
• Young St. between Victoria St. and Pensacola St. open for local traffic only.
• Ward Ave. all mauka bound lanes CLOSED between Kapiolani Blvd. & King St.
• King St., makai curb lane CLOSED between Ward Ave. & McKinley High School Driveway.
• NO morning peak contraflow on Ward Ave. or Kapiolani Blvd. Only the morning contraflow on September 1 will be affected (not the afternoon contraflow).

Removal of barriers will occur from Thursday, September 1 at 7 p.m. to Friday, September 2 at 5 a.m. along Kapiolani Blvd. and Ward Ave. as well as reopening of all pedestrian walkways previously closed.

Traffic and pedestrian advisories around the Hawaii Convention Center

The following closures will be in effect from August 30 to September 10:

• Atkinson Dr. mauka bound curb lane CLOSED between Mahukona St. & Kapiolani Blvd.
• Kapiolani Blvd., Kokohead bound curb lane CLOSED between Atkinson Dr. and Kalakaua Ave.
• Kalakaua Ave., makai bound curb lane CLOSED between Kapiolani Blvd. and Ala Wai Canal Bridge.
• The Ala Wai Promenade and Ala Wai Canal between Kalakaua Ave. and Ala Moana Blvd. will be closed to pedestrian traffic as well as marine activity.

• Bus Stop #431 – Kapiolani Blvd., mauka side, across/farside Kamake’e St. will be closed and relocated to across/nearside Kamake’e St.
• Bus Stop #433 – Kapiolani Blvd, mauka side, nearside Ward Ave. will be closed and relocate to farside Ward Ave.
• Bus Stop #135, King St., far side Ward Ave. fronting NBC Concert Hall will be closed and riders directed to use Bus Stop #133, King St, nearside Cooke St. or Bus Stop #137, King St., nearside Pensacola St.

• McCoy Pavilion and the “Keyhole” parking area to include the tennis courts and the Honolulu Lawn Bowls Green.
• Ala Wai Community Park building and parking lot. Ala Wai Park and baseball field will remain open.

Blaisdell Center closures

Parking at the Neal S. Blaisdell Center will be restricted on Wednesday, August 31 and Thursday, September 1. On those dates, box office operations will be relocated to the Waikīkī Shell box office, open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Administrative offices will be closed to walk-in business including surfboard locker payments on Thursday, September 1.

See Something, Say Something

If you see something out of place, if you observe unusual behavior by an individual or group of individuals, or if you observe any suspicious or dangerous activity, report it! Call 911 immediately. Together we can make our community safer for all of us.

Public Information Updates

Residents and visitors are urged to sign up for Nixle email and text messages to receive traffic advisories and other important information during the World Conservation Congress. You can sign up for an account at www.NIXLE.com.

Please note: This information could change or be modified as we near the opening of the World Conservation Congress. Updates will be posted to the Department of Emergency Management website at www.oahudem.org as they become available. We thank the public in advance for their patience and understanding.

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