Kokua Line
Kokua Line
Commercial repairs not
allowed on public streetsQuestion: There are two moped shops in different parts of the city that I notice constantly use public parking stalls for their private "showroom" or storage or repairs. I have been to both areas recently and could not find a place to park. Why is this allowed? I also will add that the meters had no money in them, either.
Q: Does an auto repair shop in Kakaako have a permit to park their to-be-serviced vehicles in the pay-to-park stalls on the street? Oftentimes the meters are not fed. And even if the meters are fed, is it right for the auto shop to monopolize these stalls, preventing others from using them?
Answer: You're not supposed to do commercial repair work on public streets.
But aside from the city ordinance prohibiting commercial vehicles over a certain weight (10,000 pounds) and length (20 feet) from parking for more than four hours at a time on a public street, police Lt. Ron Bode of the Honolulu Police Department's Traffic Division said he didn't see anything in the law prohibiting an establishment from parking in a metered stall -- so long as they fed the meters and followed the restrictions (i.e., one-hour parking or no parking during certain hours).
However, if there apparently is a pattern of using the spaces but not feeding the meters, Bode said you can call the parking enforcement section at 832-7835, giving a specific location and times. Parking enforcement officers can then make regular checks of the area, he said.
Q: Our family went on a picnic at Blaisdell Park in Pearl City and encountered a group of young men who were extremely boisterous in the parking area. They were yelling loudly and pounding the trees nearby with a large piece of lumber and what looked like a baseball bat. They were drinking alcohol and left their bottles and cartons strewn all over the immediate area where they sat. I tried calling the police with the cellular phone, but the group left, and the police never arrived while we were there. What else could we have done in this case? It would have been too dangerous to have tried to confront someone like this.
A: Police Maj. Bryan Wauke of the Pearl City District said he did not know why the officers did not show up in response to your call.
However, you did all the right things. If you encounter a situation like that again, Wauke said the only thing more that he could suggest is to give police a specific location, as well as a call-back number.
We passed on the license number you provided to HPD. Wauke said police can follow up with the owner of the vehicle, but they can't take any enforcement action because they did not personally witness any criminal activity or violation.
"Even if they did get away this time, the main thing is that (you) didn't confront them and didn't get hurt," he said.
Auwe
Can you solve the mystery of the 3-foot-by-3-foot bushes growing on the Keeaumoku Street overpass, between Wilder Avenue and Kinau Street? I called the mayor's office and they transferred me to parks, which transferred me to highways. Who is responsible? In the meantime, weeds and bushes are growing on the cement, which means they will crack the cement. All someone needs to do is whack the weeds, and we'll have a pleasant-looking and safe bridge. -- Judith(We passed your complaint on to the state Department of Transportation's Highways Division, which is responsible for maintaining highway overpasses and underpasses. Call 831-6712 to follow up.)
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