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New playground
a highly charged
issue in Kalihi

Board members say 'gross and
sloppy planning' by the city put
equipment near a Heco substation

By Lori Tighe
Star-Bulletin

Children can go down the slide, climb the monkey bars and then peer through a fence at an electric substation at Kalihi Valley's newly expanded DeCorte Park.

The city spent several hundreds of thousands of dollars to expand the park and put new playground equipment next to a Hawaiian Electric substation.

"We couldn't believe it," said Bill Craddick, a Kalihi Valley Neighborhood Board member. "It was gross and sloppy planning. They couldn't care less because it's in Kalihi."

The Craddicks had taken their 1-year-old son, Forest, for his first playground experience at DeCorte. But they left disappointed.

"No one would want to play next to a substation," Craddick said.

Hawaiian Electric tried to assure the community that it is safe. The scientific jury remains out on electromagnetic health effects, said Fred Kobashikawa, Heco spokesman.

"We have participated in numerous studies, and so far we haven't found any conclusive evidence of any effect on health."

But Kobashikawa said he understands the community's concern.

"It's a difficult issue. It becomes an emotional debate. The question becomes 'What is the value of a child's life?' and drifts away from the technical issues."

Kobashikawa also added that homes on Oahu are next to substations in residential areas. Electric and magnetic fields surround people daily from lights to telephones to computers.

Despite inconclusive evidence, many parents do not want to take the chance of possible harm, said Maryrose McClelland, chairwoman of the Kalihi Valley Neighborhood Board.

"That's a little too close for young, developing bodies to play next to. I would rather have them (the city) err on the side of safety," she said. "Besides, it's a waste of playground equipment if it's not used."

The neighborhood board called for more specific readings of electromagnetic levels to be taken at the playground.

But McClelland sees a pattern developing and believes the city may not be playing fair with their recreational facilities.

"Just because we're in Kalihi, don't treat us this way," she said.

Kalihi Valley District Park topped the city's list to receive playground equipment, but the neighborhood board heard that the equipment had "disappeared."

"Then I saw on the news that three East Honolulu parks got new playground equipment," McClelland said.

The project to install the new equipment had just stopped for four months, said George Chang, city Parks and Recreation Department supervisor for the Kalihi area.

"We didn't know what happened to it," he said. "But then I found out they're in the process of redesigning it. There was a large asphalt pad they had to take out to allow more grassy area."

Chang hoped construction would be finished by the start of the park's Summer Fun program. "But it doesn't look like it now," he said.

Bert Fishman, recreational director of Kalihi Valley District Park, told the board at last night's meeting that he does not know if the park received the new playground equipment, or where it might be.

However, the Kalihi Valley swimming pool, which has been closed and opened several times during the past year due to a "strange growth," will be repaired and opened by June 1, Chang said.

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City & County of Honolulu