---

New Waikiki parking
spots available soon

Question: When is the city going to open the municipal parking lot on Kaiolu Street and Kuhio Avenue for the public to use? It was closed and used to store building materials during construction of Kuhio Avenue last year and was to reopen in December. There is such a shortage of parking here in Waikiki. Here it is May and they have not opened the lot yet. It's completely repaved, and looks like it's just waiting for parking meters. In the meantime, visitors and locals need parking.

Answer: The Kaiolu Street parking lot should be open for public use by the end of this month or early June "at the latest," according to Wayne Hashiro, director of the city Department of Design and Construction.

You're right in observing that the lack of parking meters is the reason for the continued closure.

Hashiro said the meters have been ordered and are expected to arrive around May 16, then be installed by the Honolulu Police Department.

"HPD will need two to five working days to prep the meters and install the following week," he said.

When asked why the public couldn't just use the lot for free in the meantime, Hashiro cited liability issues and the need to ensure the lot is cleared when construction work is required.

There now are 27 parking stalls, including two new disabled parking stalls to comply with the Americans With Disabilities Act. Prior to reconstruction, there were 30 stalls; three were lost to make room for the ADA-compliant stalls.

It will cost $1.50 an hour to park in the lot, with a five-hour time limit on each meter.

Q: Lately I have been noticing informal no-parking areas. Generally, they are two orange cones with a sign hanging in between saying "no parking." There was one on the corner of Liloa Rise and Kamehameha Avenue in Manoa, and I have seen several in Kalihi. They look like they have been placed by residents. Perhaps the parking spots really are "no parking" zones and just don't have adequate city signage. If not, is it legal for a homeowner who wants to save parking space allowed to do that? On many streets, people who park in front of someone's house might receive nasty notes from the homeowner and I am concerned that these barriers might have been erected by this same type of homeowner. If a person receives a nasty note or encounters one of these barriers, should the police be called?

A: Yes.

If you have questions about whether a "no parking" area is authorized or if someone threatens you for parking on a public street, call police at 911, said Honolulu Police Department spokeswoman Michelle Yu.

An officer checked the Manoa location and found that the "no parking" signs were posted by a contractor without authorization, she said.

The signs were ordered to be removed.

Yu said Section 491C-36 of the Hawaii Revised Statutes covers the posting of unauthorized signs, signals or markings on public streets.

|

---

---