Kaimuki parking changes go to mayor for approval

The City Council approved a bill yesterday that would convert a busy municipal parking lot in the Kaimuki business district from meters to private parking attendants.

Bill 75 would convert Kaimuki Parking Lot 1, the larger of two municipal parking lots in the area, to an attendant parking lot and double the parking rate to $1.50 an hour after two hours to discourage long-term parking.

The lot is bordered by Waialae, 12th, Harding and 11th avenues and is surrounded by restaurants and other businesses. Customers are constantly searching for parking space and there's a lack of parking for employees.

City administration officials said the change is designed to turnover parking spaces more frequently. The increase in rates is expected to earn 20 percent more revenue.

The city now brings in about $560,000 in revenue from the lot. Under the contract that the city put out to bid, the new operator of the parking lot will be responsible for completing $1 million in improvements, including filling potholes, resurfacing, landscaping, refurbishing medians and fulfilling federal disability requirements, presumably using the revenue from the lot to pay for the construction.

The bill goes to Mayor Mufi Hannemann for consideration.

Approved measure quiets cell phones on city buses

Cell phone rings would need to be silenced on city buses under a bill approved by the City Council yesterday.

City bus drivers said that the bill was needed because cell phone rings -- some sounding like emergency sirens -- and walkie-talkie conversations are distracting drivers and annoying bus riders.

"This bill is for public safety," said Councilman Romy Cachola, the chairman of the Council Transportation and Planning Committee. "The public safety side is for the driver to concentrate on their driving and for the passengers not to be bothered by the ringing of telephones, walkie-talkies and speaker phones."

Cachola said he hopes bus ridership as well as the pleasantry of taking the bus improves with the bill.

The bill would still allow cell phone conversations on the bus. Also, it would apply to televisions, radios, recording devices, portable stereos and electronic games, all of which must be used with a headphone or earphone so that they can only be heard by the individual user.

The bill goes to Mayor Mufi Hannemann for consideration.