A proposal to allow a Waikiki nonprofit group to set parking fees, oversee freight and passenger deliveries, and make other transportation rules in the state’s No. 1 tourist destination garnered a mixed response from the public during a meeting Wednesday night.
The Waikiki Transportation Management Association, which is overseen by the Waikiki Improvement Association, wants to amend city law to create a nonprofit Waikiki transportation special improvement district. It would take the passage of three bills to create an autonomous district with a board that has the power to manage its own transportation needs outside of city oversight.
It’s early in the process, but WTMA already has discussed raising the hourly rate for some metered parking to $3 from $1.50, extending the paid parking hours to 10 p.m. instead of 6 p.m., converting about 300 free parking spaces to paid, and issuing reduced-rate permits to Waikiki residents. The association also is considering a paid permit system for commercial users with scheduled loading and unloading. Implementing these changes could result in the annual collection of nearly $3.8 million, or seven times the current city revenue of about $560,000.
WTMA President Rick Egged said during the meeting at Thomas Jefferson Elementary School in Waikiki that the group was formed in 2015 to respond to a city-commissioned traffic and parking study, which recommended making all 1,017 street parking spaces in Waikiki paid and metering commercial loading zones.
“We were very alarmed when we, as a business community, read the study,” Egged said. “We realized a lot of these things would happen from City Hall with little or no input for us. We felt it was important that we in Waikiki had the ability to manage this process rather than have it done from City Hall.”
The group wants to create the new district promptly because additional meters and higher parking rates already have been proposed by the city in Bill 12, Egged said.
“If the city is managing it, that becomes a one-size-fits-all,” he said. “All the meters would all cost $3 per hour and all from
6 a.m. to 10 p.m. We wanted to look at all the parking areas in Waikiki and we could charge different prices based on demand. We wouldn’t have to charge the $3 maximum all the time.”
Asia Yeary, a Diamond Head resident, said she supports the concept.
“I think it’s a great idea, especially if it does what you are proposing to ensure that residents have the basics that they need,” she said.
Waikiki Neighborhood Board Member Jeff Merz said he also supports the district as a way to de-emphasize vehicle use in Waikiki and earn money for multimodal transportation improvements, such as more bike paths.
“I like that the money would stay in our neighborhood,” Merz said.
But JoAnn Fitzpatrick, who owns a Waikiki condominium, said she’s not convinced that the district would be an improvement.
“I’m hearing that it’s creating more opportunities, but it’s creating more opportunities to get into our pocket,” Fitzpatrick said. “I want to see more free parking for our citizens. This is just another organization paid to figure out how to get more money out of people.”
Linda Wong, who serves on the Diamond Head/Kapahulu/St. Louis Heights Neighborhood Board, said she fears the district would result in greater bureaucracy and higher fees.
“The No. 1 complaint of locals is that there is no affordable parking in Waikiki,” she said. “If they go forward, they’ll just be kicking more locals out. Why do we need another group of paid employees to do what the city already does?”
Waikiki resident Robert Tellander said transportation reform shouldn’t be based so heavily on hospitality needs.
“The problem with this design is that it doesn’t deal with the common good,” he said. “It deals with how not to kill the goose that lays the golden egg.”
Egged said the public will have the opportunity to comment on the proposal when it goes before the City Council. City hearings have yet to be scheduled, but Egged said the organization is taking feedback at mail@waikikiimprovement.com.
