This is a tale of two Waikikis, and two Honolulu City Council noise bills.
One Waikiki powers a significant part of Hawaii’s economy, with hotel-room clientele in noise-proofed rooms, surrounded by businesses who cater to them. People call the other Waikiki home, living in condos and low-rise apartment buildings that are often anything but noise-proof.
One noise bill, Bill 43, best serves businesses that power the first Waikiki; it limits loud, amplified sound on the streets. The other, Bill 23, best serves full-time residents of the second; it bans trash-truck pickup before 6 a.m.
Both bills have merit. Though some street performers may dislike Bill 43, a noise limit would relieve businesses and tourists of noisy distractions along Waikiki’s crowded sidewalks. And while Bill 23 curbs current trash-collection practices, it would free residents of the grinding and clanking, revving and groaning of garbage trucks at times when otherwise, they might be getting a good night’s sleep.
The two bills are pending in the City Council, where they await hearings before the Transportation, Sustainability and Health (TSH) Committee. Indeed, robust input is necessary to fine-tune these worthwhile bills.
Bill 43, introduced in 2021 by Council Chairman Tommy Waters, has passed its second reading. The TSH Committee is now collaborating with the Honolulu Police Department on amendments that pertain to enforcement.
While Bill 43 does not specifically mention street performers, it is clearly targeted at these independent operators. The bill would ban any amplified noise in Waikiki that can be heard from 30 feet away, as measured by a predetermined decibel level. Emergency sirens and amplified emergency alerts would not be included in the ordinance; neither would noise from parades and festivals.
According to Bill 43, “a person’s right to free speech must be balanced with the right of the recipient not to listen.” As it turns out, the Waikiki Neighborhood Board and several individual Waikiki residents have also submitted comments in support of Bill 43, because the noise penetrates their homes.
Bill 23, introduced by Councilmember Calvin Say, has passed first reading. Businesses owners have expressed resistance to this measure, saying later-in-the-morning trash collection could interfere with Waikiki traffic and disturb tourists. But if private-company trash pick-up is occurring as early as 2:30 a.m., a business’s right to send out the trash must also be balanced with the right of sleepy residents “not to listen” in the middle of the quiet night.
One opponent of the trash collection bill raised the prospect that garbage trucks would have to circulate late enough in the morning that “thousands of visitors” would be affected. That, frankly, seems a stretch: Should garbage trucks be restricted to dawn or shortly after, tourists up at that hour are likely headed to the beach, so it’s unlikely “thousands” would be harmed.
Ditto to the hyperbolic suggestion that trucks plying the streets at that time would snarl traffic, slowing the commute for Waikiki workers.
Further, why not compromise? Keeping trash trucks off the streets until at least 4:30 or 5 a.m. could provide Waikiki residents some relief. This would avoid the unpleasant sound of grinding gears, revving engines, beeping back-up signals and crunching compactors for a larger part of most people’s night.
With both bills, potential objections seem surmountable. Street performers are not banned by Bill 43, but would need to keep the noise levels down. Similarly, Bill 23 would allow private trash trucks to get business done — just at a more reasonable hour.
City Council committees should amend Bills 43 and 23 as needed to meet practical concerns, then pass them to improve the Waikiki experience, for tourists and residents alike.
