Kokua Line June Watanabe

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Bus shelter removed for sanitation

Question: The bus stop that was on the mauka side of Kapiolani Boulevard, near Cooke Street, has been removed. Why did they remove it and will they be replacing it? Is that one of the bus stops that the city is permanently removing?

Answer: The bus stop is still there, but the shelter was taken down about a month ago.

"We removed it because it was unsanitary," said Melvin Kaku, director of the city Department of Transportation Services.

The stop in question was the subject of two columns ("Kokua Line," Aug. 14 and 20), with bus riders asking why something could not be done about the stench of urine and general unsanitary conditions caused by a homeless couple.

Kaku had said earlier that the city would begin a program to more frequently inspect problem stops like the one at Kapiolani and Cooke, and "power-wash" as necessary.

However, power-washing was not enough to remove the smell and other sanitation concerns.

When that became obvious, the decision was made to remove the shelter.

"But we really didn't need a shelter there," Kaku said, noting an "overhang" from the adjacent building that "provides sufficient coverage for the bus constituents."

Currently, there are no plans to return the shelter itself, he said, "but the bus stop is going to remain."

The homeless couple, meanwhile, apparently is "fluctuating" between nearby bus stops.

Q: What is the e-mail address for the abandoned-vehicle section for the city?

A: Go to the city's Web site at www3.honolulu.gov/csdavcomplaints, where you can fill out an online form to report abandoned vehicles.

Q: If I'm driving a handicapped person and drop him off in front of a store, can I then go and park in a handicap parking stall?

A: Only if the disabled person has a legitimate disabled parking placard or special license plate.

The placard should be displayed hanging on the windshield rearview mirror of the vehicle parked in a disabled parking stall.

Special license plates may be obtained if a disability is expected to last at least four years and the applicant is the registered owner of the vehicle.

The person with the disability who is driving or being transported has to carry an identification card and present it to an enforcement officer upon request.

For more information, call the Disability and Communication Access Board at 586-8121, go online at www.hawaii.gov/ health/dcab/parking or e-mail dcab@doh.hawaii.gov.

Mahalo

To James W. Masters, Esq., and the Legal Aid Society of Hawaii. I am grateful to Charles Greenfield, Esq., executive director, for having Masters on the staff. Masters sorted out and filed four years' worth of delinquent income taxes for my best friend, who suffers from dementia. We are fortunate indeed to have an organization like the Legal Aid Society of Hawaii. -- James Calzetta