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Kokua Line
June Watanabe
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Vendors can't park in spots for handicapped
Question: I am a 74-year-old handicapped male who uses a walker to get around. I am unable to walk more than 100 feet at a time. I live on a limited income, so going to paid concerts is a no-no for me. I do enjoy the free events that are sometimes held at Kapiolani Park. The problem is that the handicapped parking, along with other spaces, is coned off and held for the food sellers and entertainers. The major problem is when these entertainers and food sellers park their cars before the event starts and don't move until after the event ends. The last time that I went to one of these events, the woman who was in charge of the parking rudely said that I had three options: either come by cab, park somewhere else and come by bus or have someone drop me off and pick me up. I feel that the handicapped spaces should be held for handicapped persons. I'm sure that other handicapped persons feel the same. There are always at least three police officers on duty during events, and they can make sure violators move. Isn't there an ordinance covering this problem? There is an event coming up in mid-October that I would like to attend, but unless this matter is cleared up, I will be unable to go.
Answer: Call the city Department of Parks and Recreation's Kapiolani Park management office at 971-2510 with specific information, including the date and time of your encounter.
Officials can then follow up with event organizers to make sure this doesn't happen again.
In the future, anyone with disabled-parking placards who is not given access to these stalls because of parking by a non-placard holder should immediately notify police, said Dana Takahara-Dias, deputy director of the Parks Department.
The department "does not reserve, permit out or make exceptions" to the Americans with Disabilities Act regarding the use of disabled-parking stalls at Kapiolani Park for "non-ADA persons," she said.
"It is not permissible for vendors or concessionaires to use ADA stalls for loading and unloading or parking without a handicapped-parking placard in these sections," she said.
She added that permit holders are informed about the parking restrictions in writing and verbally reminded before each event.
Q: On Halloween, does the "porch light rule" apply only to houses? We have lived in our apartment for five years. We turn off our porch light so trick-or-treaters don't come to our door, but our parlor light is on. Kids still ring our doorbell and call out "trick or treat."
A: You might have to be more obvious this year and tape a "no treats" note to your door instead of just turning off your porch light.
As we noted a few years ago ("Kokua Line," Oct. 27, 2004), one of the rules of Halloween etiquette is that you don't go to a house without a porch or outside light on. It would be logical to assume apartments are included.
But this is a commonsense rule and not everyone has it -- common sense, that is.
Got a question or complaint? Call 529-4773, fax 529-4750, or write to Kokua Line, Honolulu Star-Bulletin, 500 Ala Moana Blvd., No. 7-210, Honolulu 96813. As many as possible will be answered. E-mail to
kokualine@starbulletin.com.
See also: Useful phone numbers