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Kokua Line June Watanabe |
Loose rubbish is
supposed to be baggedQuestion: One of my neighbors has a trash can that's always overflowing. The problem is that they don't bag the trash. I've called the trash department before because their trash flies all over the neighborhood, every trash day. Is there any other number I can complain to?
Answer: You're correct: Loose rubbish should be bagged, said David Shiraishi, the city's refuse collection administrator.
"When we first started automation, it was only a suggestion that you should bag it on windy days," he said, "but since then our literature has changed to say that it should be bagged" at all times.
That's not a requirement by law, "but we would follow up and expect someone to follow" the guidelines, he said.
He said to call the refuse yard for your district: Honolulu, 523-4424; Kailua, 262-7298; Koolauloa (Laie), 293-5657; Aiea-Pearl City-Ewa, 455-9644; Wahiawa-Mililani, 621-52411; Haleiwa-Waialua, 637-4795; and Waianae, 696-3421.
Q: When my wife and I went to an event at the Blaisdell Exhibition Hall last year (in the afternoon), we paid $4 for parking. When we left later that evening (around 9:30 p.m.), we noticed the parking was $5. Can the Blaisdell charge different prices for parking? On the surface, it doesn't seem right since what people are paying for is the same: parking. We just found it odd that they would be charging more for parking closer to the end.
A: There are two separate parking rates -- $4 for day and $5 for evening -- at the Blaisdell.
The rate increases after 5 p.m., confirmed Barry Fukunaga, director of the city Department of Enterprise Services.
"The pricing structure is in relation to demand and related in part to the type of activities that are held during daytime periods as opposed to evenings," he said.
Fukunaga said it's the same concept "observed at most if not all auditoriums and theaters," where lower prices are charged for matinees and higher prices for evening performances.
Update on traffic signals
In the April 7 "Kokua Line," a reader asked if a stoplight could be installed at St. Louis Drive and Dole Street. She said one was needed because drivers tended to speed down steep St. Louis Drive, making it a hazard for people coming from Dole and nearby Kaminaka Drive.At the time, the city Department of Transportation Services said it would conduct an investigation to see if a traffic signal was warranted there.
The department relies on the Federal Highways Administration's "Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices" as a guide in determining where such signals should be installed, considering factors such as number of accidents and volume of vehicular and pedestrian traffic.
Transportation Director Cheryl Soon told "Kokua Line" that, following a site evaluation, the department has "determined that traffic signal warrants are met at this intersection."
However, the catch is that installing the signals will depend upon when funds become available.
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Honolulu 96813. As many as possible will be answered.
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