An Open Letter To Mayor Peter Carlisle
Dear Mayor Carlisle:
I write to you on behalf of a very large number of residents of Oahu. We seek your assurance that your administration will not seek to install parking meters or increase fees at existing meters in residential areas or around parks and beaches.
I’m sure that you are aware this issue is extremely important to the people of Honolulu. The local media has given extensive coverage to the community opposition to the idea of the city generating income through parking income and creating barriers to park and beach use.
To date community efforts have gone into communicating our opposition to Budget Committee Chair Kobayashi and the council members on this committee. Hundreds of phone calls, emails, and letters have been sent in opposition. Over 750 people have signed an online petition and written their personal comments in opposition to what we consider to be taxation of access to parks and beaches through the current Bill 30 CD1. We invite you to go to this web site and read the comments of those signing.
At the most recent Neighborhood #5 Board meeting on February 9, Chair Kobayashi stated emphatically to the attendees that she will never schedule a bill that raises parking income on parks and beaches. Councilman Chang voiced similar opposition to any efforts by the city to raise parking rates at parks and beaches. Clearly this opposition does not relate to areas zoned business or commercial. In recent weeks your Parks and Recreation Director and the Director of Transportation Services have both expressed an intention to generate city income through increased parking fees around parks and beaches ala Bill 30 CD1.
This letter is being sent to notify you that we stand in strong opposition to any moves to do so under the guise of funding for parks or any other reason. The people of the City and County already pay high taxes; and we want our taxes to be used to maintain our parks with no additional impediments to access.
We are hoping that as our Mayor you are well aware of the strong opposition of the community to such moves and the potential political ramifications in the coming election. Although we do not see free access to parks and beaches as a political issue per se, we will strongly oppose any candidate that moves to charge parking fees for access. You are surely aware of the potentially strong appeal of a candidate in the next mayoral election that promises to maintain free access to parks and beaches for families, keiki and the next generations.
In the upcoming city budget we do not want to see any proposal to raise parking for parks and beaches. We trust you will be clear with your Parks and Recreation and Transportation Services Directors on this issue.
With respect to Kapiolani Park, there is a strong legal basis under the terms of the Kapiolani Park Trust to prohibit any charges or fees that limit access of the public. When the Hawaii Attorney General Louis addressed the Neighborhood Board #5 meeting on February 9, he acknowledged his responsibility to represent the interests of the public as parens patriae to enforce provisions of the Kapiolani Park Trust.
You may be interested to know Jodi Leong of KITV News recently published a report entitled “Kapiolani Park Preservations Society opposes Parking fee Increase.” The Star-Advertiser published an editorial entitled “Don’t raise cost of recreation.” You may also be aware that the Hawaii AG and the Kapiolani Park Preservation society have litigated with the City concerning Kapiolani Part trust in the past.
In these current tough economic times Oahu residents see our parks and beaches as a refuge as they have always been in Hawaii. As the Mayor of all the people of Honolulu we count on you to publicly and enthusiastically support free and accessible access to parks and beaches without higher or additional parking fees around these areas.
Aloha
Peter Whiticar
About the author: Peter Whiticar is a Program Manager with the Hawaii Department of Health. He's lived in Hawaii for 25 years, on Maui and Oahu. He's an avid user of Oahu's parks and beaches. He runs, walks, swims, surfs and enjoys luaus and many activities with friends and family in our parks.
