Question: I reside on Awamoku Place in Waipahu, where there has been an influx of vehicles from two residences on the street, often parking in front of the fire hydrant. Our cul-de-sac is now being used for the overflow parking, blocking driveways. One week, the trash was not picked up because vehicles were parked on both sides of the street as well as in the cul-de-sac. I have contacted the refuse division but have not received a response. HPD is getting upset because of the numerous calls being made. The neighbors cited are yelling, trying to intimidate everyone about their parking tickets. What can be done about this problem?

Answer: Officers will be checking the area at various times and citing and/or towing violators, said Honolulu police Capt. Ray Ancheta, of District 3.

If you feel that an officer is unprofessional (”;upset”; at responding), he said you should ask to speak to the officer's supervisor.

Regarding the trash pickup, you are advised to call police before the refuse truck arrives “;to expedite the process if you see the problem early enough,”; said Markus Owens, spokesman for the city Department of Environmental Services.

He said drivers also will report the problem to the refuse yard, which will then call police.

Some drivers might even sound their horns when they arrive and notice that carts are blocked, as a courtesy to homeowners.

“;Nevertheless, we do not expect drivers to blow their horns every collection day and wait until the cars are moved,”; Owens said.

In this situation, he said, “;everyone shares the responsibility.”;

Parking problems?

Apropos of the above complaint, parking ranks among the most frequent complaints Kokua Line receives: cars too close to a driveway or an intersection; blocking mailboxes and trash carts; hogging on-street parking spaces; left in one spot for days or weeks.

If your neighborhood has a chronic problem with parking scofflaws, an alternative to calling 911 to report violations (as a nonemergency) is to alert HPD's Volunteer Special Enforcement Officers, said Sgt. Emilio Laganse, head of the unit.

The volunteer unit was assembled initially to help monitor use of disabled parking stalls. But several years ago its authority was expanded to address the abandoned-vehicle problem and, subsequently, parking violations in general, Laganse said.

He noted that in addressing the abandoned-vehicle problem, “;it starts with an expired safety check or expired registration ... then to vehicles being left on the street 24/7. So, we let (the volunteer officers) start citing for those violations.”;

From there it expanded to citing vehicles parked out of stall, etc., “;to help alleviate some of the other problems”; and freeing patrol units to focus on more pressing calls, Laganse said.

He said the unit, currently with 20 volunteers, works with beat officers and community policing teams on parking problems.

He advises people to still call 911, saying it is a nonemergency, to report parking violations if the situation warrants immediate attention.

But for chronic neighborhood problems, call your district police station (numbers are in the phone book or online at honolulupd.org/contact.htm) and “;make a complaint. If the station needs help, they can call us, and we can go out there and help.”;

Write to ”;Kokua Line”; at Honolulu Star-Bulletin, 7 Waterfront Plaza, Suite 210, 500 Ala Moana Blvd., Honolulu 96813; call 529-4773; fax 529-4750; or e-mail .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).