There’s no question that Kakaako Waterfront Park needs a makeover.
Park users of late have mainly been displaced by homeless people who were cleared from Kakaako sidewalks last year — not quite what planners envisioned when it was built more than two decades ago.
An ambitious 20-year plan to revamp the 47-acre
Kakaako Waterfront Park would create a more vibrant, inviting attraction — yet we wonder whether the grand vision is worth the high price at $44.5 million.
Urban Honolulu’s largest park, built in 1992 to cover a municipal landfill, cries out for improvement, but finding a smart mix of magnets will be key.
The Hawaii Community Development Authority is rightly focused on developing a more user-friendly park — with amenities such as a gym, children’s play structures, a beer garden, food truck court and an amphitheater that rivals the Waikiki Shell. As it stands now, there is little to draw people, especially families, to the park.
One questionable component of the plan, however, calls for cutting much of the landfill berm, which rises up to 50 feet, in order to get a clear view to the ocean from Ala Moana Boulevard. Re-contouring the landfill mounds is an unresolved issue in HCDA’s plan — and likely a big-ticket item — so residents will need to be convinced that an unimpeded view of the ocean is worth the expense.
Ironically, the rolling hills are part of the park’s current charm, a place where visitors can slide down the hillsides on pieces of cardboard. Some leveling might be necessary to accommodate new facilities in certain areas, but flattening the entire park creates another issue: how to handle the excess material.
The sports complex is proposed to include sand volleyball courts, bleachers, a gym and parking.
The public should take the time to weigh in on the types of sports venues to be incorporated in the plan, ones that would draw the most activity.
Optimistically, HCDA projects that $5.7 million could be derived from the food trucks, beer garden, amphitheater and sports complex. That would cover an estimated $5.3 million in operating expenses, leaving about $400,000 in annual profit.
The beauty of open space is indisputable, and must be maintained here. But some compatible, commercial use of Kakaako Waterfront Park is needed to attract crowds and generate revenue to help pay for the park’s upkeep, which costs about $1 million annually.
Unlike the city’s Ala Moana Beach Park, which is heavily used by families and does not need commercial enterprise to draw visitors, Kakaako Waterfront Park is sorely underutilized.
In recent years, HCDA has considered proposals — some garish — from private entities to lease portions of the park for commercial activities, but declined the offers after negative public response. HCDA says some financing for pieces of the current plan might be done in private-public partnership, but it must ensure that any partnering not hinder public access.
Michelle Matson, president of the Oahu Island Parks Conservancy, voiced concern that certain sports areas would be restricted to paying customers, but overall was supportive of the concepts included in the
20-year plan.
The plan also includes a “beach hale” near the Point Panic and Kewalos surf breaks that could possibly include surfboard storage and a food concession; turning a small existing amphitheater into a grass hill sliding area and perhaps rock-climbing features or rope courses; and extending a promenade at Kewalo Basin Park so it connects with Ala Moana Beach Park.
The plan appears to fall in line with the desired “Lei of Green” concept, which would seamlessly connect Ala Moana Beach Park, Kewalo Basin Park and Kakaako Waterfront Park.
The city — now working on a master plan for Ala Moana Beach Park — and the state — which just released these Kakaako Waterfront Park plans —have an opportunity at this stage to ensure the plans complement one another.
The public may comment on the Kakaako park environmental report through June 22.
For more information, call the HCDA at 594-0300.
While there are more pressing needs in the state, it’s still worthwhile to envision how our urban parks should transform over the next two decades.
If major improvements are made at Kakaako Waterfront Park, its future would likely include many more active park users, as intended, not park dwellers.
