Question: I have heard that the existing rail stations do not have public restrooms. Is this true?
Answer: Yes. “All restrooms in the stations are controlled-access restrooms, meaning access is required to enter the restroom,” said Travis Ota, spokesperson for Honolulu’s Department of Transportation Services. They won’t be open for the public to use without permission.
The limited toilet facilities are meant for station employees, not the general public, but may be available in an emergency, he said, noting that this is typical nationwide.
“The majority of metro stations across the county do not have public restrooms. Honolulu is no different,” Ota said in an email, indicating that security concerns and the relatively short route were decisive factors. He referred Kokua Line to the American Public Transportation Association’s recommendations on restrooms at public transit passenger facilities, 808ne.ws/42GV5Hq.
“Restrooms can become significant security risks if they are not effectively designed and managed. Specifically, restrooms may be targeted for vandalism, assault, prostitution, illicit drug activity and other illegal or terrorist activity due to their private and easily accessible nature. Consideration must be given to the location, access control and monitoring, occupancy, design, and maintenance of proposed and existing restroom facilities,” the APTA guide says.
Transit agencies should decide in advance whether restrooms will be “open access,” with little or no control over admittance, or have “controlled entry,” with locks, it says. Once a decision is reached to control access, as on Oahu, “transit agencies should develop procedures for consistently enforcing and monitoring access with specific procedures in place to minimize potential bias,” it says.
DTS Director Roger Morton told KHON2 news last week that the decision not to have public restrooms was made years ago, and that there are no plans to add them in a later phase of Oahu’s rail-transit system.
In his email to Kokua Line, Ota said that when the first phase of Oahu’s rail- transit system opens, “the longest ride a rider will be on a train will be no more than 22 minutes.”
To answer another reader’s question, no, there aren’t toilets on the trains themselves, just like there aren’t toilets on TheBus.
“There are no metro systems in the country that have restrooms onboard a train. The longest a rider will be on the train is about 22 minutes on the West Project Segment rail opening. Once rail reaches Civic Center, a rider will not spend more than 45 minutes riding the train,” Ota said.
Oahu’s rail-transit system is set to welcome passengers at 2 p.m. June 30, covering a roughly 11-mile stretch between the Kualaka‘i station in East Kapolei and the Halawa station near Aloha Stadium. Service is to be extended into urban Honolulu in the years to come.
Q: I know that bus stops do not have restrooms, but what about at the main bus depot?
A: Yes, the Kalihi Transit Center has a public restroom, Ota said. This bus depot is at the corner of Middle Street and Kamehameha Highway.
Q: Is it too late to apply for the rental relief from the city?
A: Yes, for now, if you are referring to Oahu’s Rental and Utility Relief Program, funded by federal pandemic relief aid. The online application portal “closed Tuesday afternoon after receiving 2,000 new applications in just over two hours” and all appointments for an in-person enrollment event scheduled for Monday have been filled as well, according to a news release from the city.
Check the program website at revitalizeoahu.org/renthelp for information about different programs that may be able to help with rent and utility bills, or provide legal advice or mediation services, or job training or help finding a full- or part-time job.
Write to Kokua Line at Honolulu Star-Advertiser, 500 Ala Moana Blvd., Suite 7-500, Honolulu, HI 96813; call 808-529-4773; or email kokualine@staradvertiser.com.
