BRUCE ASATO / BASATO@STARADVERTISER.COM
View looking east on Kuhio Avenue in Waikiki, with its pedestrians on sidewalks and cars, trucks, delivery vehicles, tour buses and city buses sharing the road.
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Wait: Doesn’t the city’s “Complete Streets” plan mean complete, including pedestrians? Then why is there a need for a separate pedestrian plan?
That is one foundational question that officials surely will take up at today’s public meeting, slated for 6-8 p.m. at Aloha Tower Marketplace Multi-Purpose Room 3. Perhaps the pedestrian plan will take stock of actual conditions on the ground — maybe the “walkable” zones on the map aren’t so walkable. Who knows that better than real pedestrians?
Much depends on hotel revenues
Tourism floats so many economic boats here — not to mention a bit of Honolulu’s rail, directly via a sliver of hotel room tax and indirectly via an Oahu general excise tax surcharge. So any slowdown in our visitor industry gets attention — such as a new report showing March dips in hotel occupancy, in average daily room rates and in hoteliers’ revenue per room.
It all bears watching, for sure. Meanwhile, this silver lining: Hotels are ramping up specials, including kamaaina deals that haven’t been seen in years. Good time for a staycation, yes?
