Kokua Line
Kokua Line
Adjustments to be made
to Aloha Stadium trafficQuestion: If Aloha Stadium personnel are truly concerned about "getting vehicles in as quickly as possible" (Kokua Line, Sept. 15) why did they create the bottleneck that is Salt Lake Boulevard on University of Hawaii football game days? Kahuapaani Street feeds into Salt Lake Boulevard and carries the bulk of traffic coming to the game from all over. Gates 1, 2 and 4 are accessible only from Salt Lake for their respective parking areas. It used to be where Gate 3, on Kahuapaani, was open to parking areas 3 and 4. It is now open only to Area 3, forcing anyone who wishes to park in Area 4 (like we have been doing for over 25 years) to enter from Gate 4 only. Our tailgate group of 15 to 20 or more fans are baffled by this procedure. Gate 3 is under-used while the one lane to Salt Lake is backed up because of the mess.
Answer: Here's the good news: There will be changes made to the traffic routes into Aloha Stadium beginning with Saturday's UH-Nevada football game, among them your entry into Area 4.
STAR-BULLETIN/ 2001
Aloha Stadium officials urge people to follow tailgating policies in order to make things at the games run smoothly. Cloyd Powell, Robin Rothwell and Roberta Stevens barbecued in the parking lot before Pro Bowl 2001.
The "biggest area of concern" during UH football games is the traffic on Salt Lake Boulevard and Kahuapaani Street, acknowledged Scott Chan, the stadium's operations manager.
After studying the situation with the Honolulu Police Department, he said the following changes will be made beginning with the next UH game:
>> Vehicles coming through Gate 3 will be allowed to enter the Lower Halawa parking lot, usually reserved for vehicles entering Gate 4, off Salt Lake Boulevard. To get to that lot from Gate 3, you are asked to stay in the extreme left-hand lane as you enter the gate.This is meant to alleviate the backup that occurs when the main Salt Lake entrance (Gate 1) is closed to vehicles without a pass or handicap parking placard. (The gate is closed to those without a pass or placard when the available public parking spaces it leads to are taken.)>> From now on, stadium staff will be checking passes at the toll gates inside the parking lot, instead of at the entrances.
What happened previously was that passes and permits were being inspected prior to entering Gate 1, which caused problems when vehicles without such passes were forced to turn around on Salt Lake Boulevard, Chan said.
"By moving those security checks inside the lot, vehicles that are forced to turn around will be able to do so without interfering with traffic on Salt Lake Boulevard," he said.
Once the Salt Lake gate is closed to non-pass-holders, Chan asks motorists to "please do not enter the gate unless you have a pass."
Stadium-goers unsure of the status of Gate 1 are advised to listen to 1420 AM on the radio, which provides traffic and parking updates for UH football games.
>> The public is asked to place passes in plain view on the dashboard to expedite the process.
This change in procedure will hold for the rest of the UH home games and will be evaluated at the end of the season, Chan said.
Meanwhile, he reminds football fans that parking is also available at Leeward Community College (free parking, plus $2 per person shuttle fee, with no charge for children under 12; Kam Drive-In ($5 charge per vehicle, with free shuttle service); and at Radford High School ($3 parking charge, with no shuttle service).
Shuttles run from 3:30 to 6 p.m. and from 9 p.m. to one hour after UH games.
Q: I can empathize with the person writing to Kokua Line about stadium parking (Kokua Line, Sept. 15). A very simple solution would be to implement a parking procedure, directed by stadium personnel, that filled each lot by starting at the front and working back, slot by slot. When filled, the lot would be closed. It creates a safer situation, stems frustration and would alleviate confrontation between late-comers and tailgaters. If tailgaters want to party together, let them enter the stadium together. I presented this to the Stadium Authority last year and thus far, things have not improved. It would have been nice to have had some feedback from them on whether they found merit in the above solution, and lack of response, in my opinion, indicates arrogance on their part. Maybe those in charge don't care, because after all, they have their own designated stadium parking spots.
A: Aloha Stadium Operations Manager Scott Chan says your suggestion is being considered. Normally, such suggestions or criticisms are responded to, he said, but he did not know what happened in your case.
"We take all criticisms and comments into consideration and do our best to address them," he said.
But basically, solving the parking mess is not that simple.
What would help the situation enormously is if people just followed the tailgate policies, Chan said.
Among other things, that means:
>> No reserving or saving of stalls.Chan also reminded fans of the bag-check policy still in effect, which means no weapons; coolers; bags, purses, handbags or backpacks; outside food or beverages; bottles or cans; fireworks; air horns or other noisemakers; umbrellas; or contraband. Fanny packs are allowed but will be subject to security checks.>> Confining vehicles, tables, chairs, barbecue pits and tents to one stall. Groups may park next to one another and share a tent or equipment. However, there should be no empty stalls between vehicles, and tailgaters should not expect to occupy empty stalls near their party.
>> No ball playing, Frisbee-tossing, or playing of any flying object for safety reasons.
>> No bike or scooter riding, skateboarding or inline skating.
>> No animals allowed.
Keys Found
Two keys on a key chain found on a wall at the corner of Nuuanu Avenue and Vineyard Boulevard on Sept. 30. If it's yours, call 523-4381. Ask for lost keys.
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Useful phone numbers
Got a question or complaint?
Call 529-4773, fax 529-4750, or write to Kokua Line,
Honolulu Star-Bulletin, 500 Ala Moana Blvd., No. 7-210,
Honolulu 96813. As many as possible will be answered.
E-mail to kokualine@starbulletin.com
