Waikiki
may get a bigger
cop station

Kalakaua would lose
one lane as the station, beach
and sidewalk expand

By Gordon Pang
Star-Bulletin

Plans for a new, larger police substation and other improvements along Kuhio Beach are now one City Council vote away from final approval.

The plans moved out of the Council's Planning Committee yesterday despite worries raised by business officials and others.

The $12 million plan calls for demolition of the existing police substation building -- which also houses a snack bar and restrooms -- and construction of two smaller structures.

An expansion of the beach and sidewalk will result in the elimination of a lane along a section of Kalakaua Avenue.

The two structures would total 2,300 square feet, less than the current 3,000-square-foot structure.

The substation itself, however, would grow from 625 to 800 square feet to accommodate a monitoring area for anti-crime video cameras that soon will be going up.

David Dodge, president of the Waikiki Improvement Association, said his organization supports the overall plan. But he and other members "have philosophical concerns about structures on our public beaches."

Others, including Tony Vericella of the Hawaii Visitors and Convention Bureau, raised questions about the elimination of a lane along Kalakaua.

Lions Club International is expected to hold its convention in the year 2000 in Honolulu, and had been planning to use four-lane Kalakaua Avenue for a parade. Lions Club official Melvin Nakamura asked the city to hold off changing to three lanes until after its July 2000 convention.

Ben Lee, Mayor Jeremy Harris' chief of staff, said the city hopes to secure a contractor and begin construction by the end of this year.

The project should be completed by late next summer, Lee said.