And the vision goes on. Come see what ‘vision
teams’ are seeingBy Diana Leone
Star-BulletinTomorrow, Honolulu Mayor Jeremy Harris invites folks who care about Oahu to join him at the third annual Vision Meeting at the Hawaii Convention Center.
The 8 a.m.-to-noon event targets the hundreds of people who have participated in the monthly vision-team meetings. Many neighborhood board members will be there, too, and so can you, if you like. The event is free.
The 3-year-old visioning program divides the island into 19 distinct areas and asks people to brainstorm about what their neighborhoods need most -- then offers each area $2 million a year to help make it happen.
You may have heard of some of the projects on the drawing board or on their way to construction -- especially if they are in your area.
Examples include:
>> Kailua's plan to put electric lines underground and add a tree-filled median to several blocks of Kailua Road.
>> Chinatown's plan to protect its public artwork from vandalism with barriers and surveillance cameras.
>> Aiea's plan to create a "bark park" where cooped-up canines can frolic a little.
Because the program has been so successful, the mayor wants people to think past the boundaries of their immediate community, said Randall Fujiki, city planning director.
An example of a vision project that is growing is the Aiea vision team's idea of an historic bike/hike/walk trail along the shoreline of Pearl Harbor, in the old OR&L railroad right of way.
The project could span up to five vision team areas if it is extended all the way to Waianae, Fujiki said.
Displays of current vision projects will be set up for people to see what has been planned.
Fujiki said Harris will use tomorrow's meeting to "roll out" some of his ideas for regional projects, but would not provide any advance hints of what they are.
The heart of the visioning process is for local people to say what they want and work with the city to achieve it, Fujiki said.
Town planning consultant Victor Dover of South Miami, Fla., will give a keynote speech shortly after 9 a.m., describing how he worked with cities on the mainland to enhance quality of life and cut down on car traffic.
Dover said he sees an "overwhelming potential of opportunity" in Honolulu and is excited to see a lot of people walking. One of his specialties is helping make areas of towns more "walkable," so that people can trim the number of car trips they make from both home and work.
"I'm not against cars, but I try to make cities more pedestrian-friendly and less car-dependent," he said.
He is a big fan of "pedestrian facilities planning" -- that's sidewalks for the rest of us.
The cost of bringing Dover to Hawaii and the half-day conference were not available from the city yesterday.
If you want to envision the city even more, Fujiki said next week -- April 28 -- the mayor will host a community-planning workshop for Oahu's "primary urban area."
The free event will be at the Ala Wai golf course clubhouse, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
City & County of Honolulu
