Two laws banning smoking at city parks and bus stops take effect Jan. 1, and city officials began installing signs on Wednesday as a heads up.

Mayor Kirk Caldwell, flanked by several City Council members and community groups supporting the new laws, climbed a ladder to post the first no-smoking sign at Thomas Square.

One ban, introduced by Councilman Ikaika Anderson, applies to all city-run parks, beaches, tennis courts, playgrounds, athletic fields, botanical gardens, swimming pools, parking lots and beach or park rights-of-way areas. It will not apply at city golf courses, such as Ala Wai Golf Course.

Violators could be fined $100 for an initial offense and up to $500 for subsequent offenses, but Caldwell said he expects police will likely issue verbal warnings and ticket only those who persist. A police officer would have to personally see a violation in order to issue a citation, Caldwell said.

The city is hoping education and awareness about the prohibitions by themselves will be deterrents to smoking at parks and bus stops, the mayor said.

A smoking prohibition went into effect at seven popular Honolulu beach parks earlier this year under a separate measure introduced by Councilman Stanley Chang. At those parks, the Honolulu Police Department has so far issued 12 citations and 97 warnings.

Suzanne Frazer of Beach Environmental Awareness Campaign Hawai‘i, a strong advocate of the smoking ban on beaches and organizer of numerous cleanups and educational efforts, said the public seems to be getting the message.

At Waikiki’s Kaimana Beach (technically part of Kapiolani Beach Park), only 102 butts were collected during a cleanup day in September, Frazer said. "Normally (in years past), we’d find thousands."

A similar trend appears to be taking shape at the South Shore’s Sandy Beach, near Halona Blowhole, Frazer said.

Posters, signs, brochures and even plastic fans are being distributed islandwide, including at hotels in Waikiki.

The city has printed 1,400 signs at $40 apiece for about 300 parks and other recreational facilities it operates.

"It’s going to take months to get them all out," Caldwell said. The signs will go on existing poles, he said.

The parks ban applies only to city-run parks and recreational facilities. Smoking will continue to be allowed at state-run parks, including Diamond Head State Monument, Sand Island and Malaekahana, said Deborah Ward, spokeswoman for the state Department of Land and Natural Resources.

Ward nonetheless said she encourages smokers to refrain from tossing cigarette butts on the ground.

The other new ban, introduced by Councilman Ron Menor, will be enforced at each of the city’s 3,500 TheBus stops. The smoke-free zone extends 20 feet from the bus stop sign or shelter, if there is one.

The city is paying $5,000 for every 500 signs posted at bus stops, bringing the total cost to $35,000. Signs inside the city’s roughly 500 buses will also remind of the smoking ban.