Council stalls bill on meters at parks
Walter Romanski and his fiancee
The City Council will hold off a proposal to collect more money from parking meters at city parks, particularly Kapiolani Park.
Council members said public opposition prompted the move to recommit Bill 30 when they meet Friday.
"Residents and park visitors have vocally opposed Bill 30, which increases parking charges by 100 percent at Kapiolani Park and establishes fees at all other city parks," Councilman Stanley Chang, whose district includes Kapiolani Park, said Tuesday. "Their concerns have been heard loud and clear at the Council, and I am very confident that my colleagues will agree that moving forward with Bill 30 would be irresponsible in its current form."
Budget Committee Chairman Ernie Martin said the bill will be sent back to committee and that members will work on the proposal further and perhaps exclude Kapiolani Park.
"We don’t want to discourage use of the park from our residents," Martin said.
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DRIVERS now pay 50 cents an hour to park from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. at about 280 meters along Kapiolani Park. The measure would have increased the rate to $1 an hour and extended the fee period to 24 hours a day, seven days a week, as early as this fall. Parks and Recreation Director Gary Cabato also would have been authorized to end free parking around Aala Park in Chinatown and install meters that would charge $1 an hour 24 hours a day.
The bill originally was introduced without listing a specific site where parking meter rates would be increased.
Martin said it was introduced "just to have the discussion as to potentially allowing the city to charge for parking for use of city parks." The city requested amendments to the bill to explore raising additional revenue from meters at Kapiolani Park.
Chang said he hoped to work with residents and the community in coming up with an acceptable bill.
"We will continue to work with the community and administration to look at ways to provide funds for much-needed repair and maintenance of our parks," he said. "We welcome any input and feedback from our residents."
