Kokua Line June Watanabe

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Cul-de-sac parking ban now enforced

Question: Why are there approximately four cul-de-sacs in the entire Villages of Kapolei that do not have "no parking" signs posted? Homeowners and renters haphazardly and repeatedly park numerous vehicles in our cul-de-sac while the Honolulu Police Department does nothing whenever a complaint is called in. We asked HPD specifically why they are not ticketing the vehicles, and the response was that the streets of Kapolei have not been handed over in an official dedication to the city. HPD doesn't seem to care that there is a bilateral agreement officially in place between the state and the city over the roads. Also, there is a city ordinance that specifically states cul-de-sacs are considered turn-around areas for emergency vehicles and no one should park there. There is also is a fire hydrant, but still the cars block access to it. Why have laws if there is no enforcement? Are state-owned roads exempted from city laws?

Answer: There obviously was some misunderstanding or miscommunication.

Police are able to cite people for parking in those cul-de-sacs, even if there is no "no parking" sign (Kokua Line, May 25) and even if the road has not been turned over to the city.

But just to make sure that "everybody is on board with this," officers in the district were reminded recently about the cul-de-sac restrictions, said HPD Lt. Farrel Sojot of the Kapolei Station.

We passed on your complaint and the name of your cul-de-sac to HPD, and Sojot called shortly afterward to say that an officer had been sent to check the area.

You subsequently confirmed that an officer had cited the illegally parked vehicles.

If the vehicles are parked illegally on a public street, "we will do enforcement," Sojot said.

However, there apparently also is a problem with "access roads in the back of the houses" in the Villages of Kapolei. Those roads are private.

Officers will not cite any vehicles parked on private access roads, Sojot said.

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Q: I would like to know who is responsible for maintaining the Pearl Harbor bike path. I was riding my bike there recently just east of Waipio Point Access Road and was run off the path by a pickup truck coming the other way. This vehicle did not belong on the bike path, but was able to gain access because the gate next to Waipio Road is always open. Why don't the people responsible lock the gate?

A: "We have repeatedly locked the gate," said Larry Leopardi, chief of the city's Road Maintenance Division.

Similar concerns were addressed in our Nov. 13, 2005, Kokua Line.

In this instance, other people, such as from Waipahu High School, require access to their facilities and are allowed to go through the gate, Leopardi said.

The problem is that other users "repeatedly fail to keep it secured," Leopardi said. "This joint access is exacerbating the access and security issues."

The city is "looking at what options we have available to correct this issue," he said.