Far from the waning sands of Oahu’s North Shore, another insidious erosion problem gnaws away at downtown Honolulu. Historic sidewalks, made from slabs of granite and over a century old, and volcanic rock curbs are being pulled up and replaced by the city — with batches of significant stone strewn in base yards, piled under freeway overpasses or irresponsibly discarded.

According to Glenn Mason, a local restoration architect and member of the Oahu Historic Preservation Commission, many granite sidewalk pavers and curbs date back to the overexploitation of Hawaii’s sandalwood forests. Incoming foreign cargo ships would use granite slabs as ballast to fill their largely empty holds, and offload the stone for sandalwood at Honolulu ports. These slabs were cut down to size and used to pave sidewalks and create curbs around the harbor, joined by locally quarried lava rocks that date back to the 1880s.

The pavers add character and unique architectural flair to areas like downtown Honolulu, now overrun with concrete monoliths connected by a latticework of nondescript walkways. The pavers’ natural forms imbue a sense of beauty — but those imperfections could pose a safety risk for the thousands who tread across them, especially without city policy or funds in place for monitoring and maintenance.

Removal of Honolulu’s historic granite sidewalk stones has been ongoing for decades, and while the city is ostensibly their steward, official efforts to preserve and find ways to reuse material are so far lacking.

The issue came to a head last year when a city contractor removed and jettisoned pavers fronting Lai Fong store in Chinatown. That action in part prompted a Sept. 26 letter from the Oahu Historic Preservation Commission, expressing concerns over the city’s handling of the issue, to Mayor Rick Blangiardi, city Managing Director Michael Formby and city Department of Planning and Permitting Director Dawn Takeuchi Apuna. Included in the correspondence was photos of stockpiles of granite paver and lava rock stones, some stacked neatly under a section of freeway and others piled haphazardly in a base yard. Decades of Honolulu history heaped and hidden, with no plans for resetting or reuse.

Blangiardi’s communications director, Scott Humber, said the city will work with the commission to retain, inventory and potentially use the paver stones and curbs. Beyond that, new protocols are in place to avoid a repeat of the Lai Fong sidewalk debacle: Agencies identify possible historic sidewalks as part of work requests, and confirm when historic pavers or stone curbs are present. There is also tighter collaboration with the State Historic Preservation Division during phases of sidewalk reconstruction and other projects.

All steps in the right direction, but concrete plans must be in place to creatively handle existing stockpiles, rather than leaving items to decay in junk lots. A temporary solution could be limited sale or auction of retained pavers, particularly those of lower quality unlikely to be deployed in city projects. Income generated from the endeavor should go toward maintenance of historic sites, downtown security or beautification.

Appetite exists for the preservation and reuse of significant resources. A $30 million affordable housing conversion of the historic Hocking Building in Chinatown was recently celebrated for its mix of old elements, including exposed brickwork and iconic window fittings, with modern interior elements. Inside, 40 apartments with rents starting at $731 accompany meeting space for the Downtown-Chinatown Neighborhood Board and offices for the nonprofit Institute for Human Services. Downtown’s historic pavers should be held in equal esteem and treated with a similar spirit of conservation.