Given that the Honolulu Police Department is short nearly 400 officers, we were heartened to hear that the city is hiring private security teams to patrol Waikiki after dark for the next six months, thanks to federal funds.

But what will happen when the new pedestrian-bicycle bridge is built over the Ala Wai Canal? People causing problems in Waikiki will suddenly have easy, 24/7 access to our residential neighborhood on the mauka side of the canal, with two schools and city parks including a canoe hale, playgrounds and community gardens, all supposedly closed overnight.

Currently the canal itself makes our neighborhood inconvenient for anyone who doesn’t live, work or legitimately use the parks here. Without that watery protection, who will help the police and the city’s parks department deal with the influx of criminal behavior?

Jan Rensel

Kapiolani

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