Mirikitani hopes for safer
Ala Moana beach park

By Jaymes K. Song
Star-Bulletin

Elsa Kimura remembers sitting on Ala Moana Beach, talking to her friends underneath the big, bright moon about 20 years ago.

Sue Stephens recalls the 1960s, when she would go swimming at 3 a.m. in the warm waters off Ala Moana Beach.

Both women say they felt safe then, but now they avoid the park at night.

"The taxi driver told us, 'Don't walk at night, you'll get mugged or robbed,' " said Stephens, who grew up in Waipahu and now lives in Salem, Ore.

With construction of a new police and ocean safety facility at the park, City Councilman Andy Mirikitani hopes some of those fears will subside.

An old concession stand, just Ewa of the tennis courts, will be transformed into a police/ocean safety building and will be opened by mid-December.

In a news conference yesterday in front of the building, Mirikitani said Ala Moana Beach Park is used by more than 5 million people a year.