In the works for more than four years now, some welcome upgrades tied to a master plan for Ala Moana Regional Park are completed.

Exercise paths winding through the Magic Island area are repaved, sealed and painted. Renovation of bathhouses has wrapped up. And the “Great Lawn,” which covers upwards of 60% of the park’s 119 acres is fitted with a new central-controlled irrigation system.

All clearly line up with the city’s master plan, which aims to restore beauty, increase accessibility to the aging urban site and maintain its low-key character. Meanwhile, community debate continues over a few pieces of the plan that would create new features.

Top among them: a private-public partnership proposal to reserve 1 acre for installation of a playground — complete with swings and other equipment, including some tailored for special-needs kids, as well as features such as close-to-the-ground mini “zip cruise” lines and a splash pad.

This week, the City Council’s Committee on Parks, Community Services and Intergovernmental Affairs unanimously passed a resolution — introduced by Councilwoman Ann Kobayashi — requesting that Honolulu Hale provide the Council with alternate sites for development of an accessible-playground serving the Kakaako area.

Such a move makes good sense. Created as a New Deal project in the early 1930s, the beloved Ala Moana park hasn’t changed much over the years. Long regarded as a go-to for recreation and beachside potlucks, in recent years it has also provided green-space respite from the rising residential and commercial built-environment taking shape nearby.

Elimination of even a single acre of space that’s now open for everyday picnicking and ball-throwing is being resisted by park regulars who rightly feel a sense of ownership in the site.

As Kobayashi has suggested, the proposed playground could be a better fit for Kakaako Waterfront Park, near the Hawaii Children’s Discovery Center. Last month, the state’s Hawaii Community Development Authority voted to transfer its Kakaako Makai parks — 41 acres in all, including Waterfront Park — to the city.

The city intends to undertake nearly $28 million in long-term improvements to those parks, which have plenty of parking and inviting green hills, but have struggled to generate a fraction of popularity that Ala Moana park enjoys. Instead, unfortunately, the Kakaako parks have contended with years of homeless encampments taking hold.

With the city prepping for a fresh-start Kakaako parks makeover, plans for the playground could be paired with the Children’s Discovery Center for a mutually beneficial future as a kids’ destination. Together, they hold potential to bring more family-oriented outings to the Waterfront Park.

The vision for the Ala Moana park playground surfaced last year when a volunteer group called Pa‘ani Kakou, with Mayor Kirk Caldwell’s support, announced that it wants to bankroll construction, with the intention of gifting it to the city. Questions linger, however, over issues such as downstream maintenance and repair costs.

Should the group agree to move the plan about one mile down the road, community input is in order, including a public hearing on the matter.

Last month, when Caldwell touted the latest Ala Moana master plan efforts, he seemed to dismiss a recently adopted Council resolution calling on the administration to retain the park’s existing areas as much as possible and to hold off on the playground and a dog park.

Although a resolution does not carry the weight of a legally binding ordinance, the administration should think twice, especially now that a second resolution is gaining traction. Ample public input and community buy-in are key to forging an appealing future for the “People’s Park.”