The latest report on conditions of major roadways in metro areas provides further confirmation of what many Oahu motorists have long held to be true: Honolulu’s roadways are among the worst. This time, we’re ranked in the No. 5 spot among the top 20 pothole-plagued cities.

More than half (54 percent) of Honolulu’s major roads and highways are in poor condition, according to TRIP (a nonprofit national transportation research group). Alarming? Yes. But readily believable, given that on Monday nine motorists here needed help from Freeway Service Patrol after their cars sustained pothole-inflicted tire damage along a Zipper Lane stretch.

More city parks closed for cleaning

This week, the city announced that portions of Ala Wai Community Park and neighboring Ala Wai Neighborhood Park will be closed for maintenance until after Christmas. Meanwhile, three nearby parks that closed for maintenance last month, are set to reopen in early November.

City officials have said the latest rounds of closures were not directly due to the presence of homeless encampments. Still, a growing lineup of campers, surrounded by clumps of personal items and trash, preceded closure. That’s been the case lately — and as far back as 2006, when the city launched a renovation of Ala Moana Beach Park, which included nighttime closure. As a result, hundreds of homeless campers were displaced. Twelve years later, the same drill is in place, it seems.