By Michele Kayal
Advertiser Staff Writer
Waikiki business leaders announced a $1.25 million contract yesterday that will put more than a dozen cleaning people on the district’s streets each day starting next week.
The Waikiki Business Improvement District Association, which represents 1,600 Waikiki hoteliers, retailers and landowners, announced it had signed a 16-month agreement with Hawaiian Building Maintenance to provide cleaning and landscaping services in the half-square-mile heart of Waikiki. The association is financed through assessments collected from members.
Hawaiian Building Maintenance will embark on a 30-day "power cleaning" program Thursday, said association president Rick Egged, to remove gum, grime and stains from the sidewalks. After the initial cleanup, the streets — used by an estimated 100,000 people a day — will be maintained by round-the-clock crews to haul trash, sweep sand and remove graffiti, stains and spills. The effort will cost about $2,500 a day and deploy a total of 15 people daily, Egged said.
"One of the things you take for granted is if somebody walking along spills a milkshake on the sidewalk, when does it get cleaned up?" Egged said. "There will be an actual measurement of minutes rather than hours."
The cleaning efforts are part of a push to revitalize one of Hawai‘i’s best-known destinations, which until recently had been losing visitors. Waikiki has received a major facelift over the past 18 months, with more than $13 million in renovations at KÂhiø Beach Park and along Kalakaua Avenue.
Many private enterprises also have come on line, such as the DFS Galleria, which opened in January. The Hilton Hawaiian Village will complete its Kalia Tower in May, and retailer Hilo Hattie is scheduled to open an outlet. In 2001, more than $250 million in renovations will be completed in Waikiki.
"We get comments all the time that our guests think it’s very clean compared to many cities on the Mainland, and they’re amazed how clean things are," said Chip Crosby, general manager of the Aston Waikiki Circle Hotel on Kalakaua Avenue. "There’s always room for improvement — there are always tiles missing (from the sidewalk). Those could probably be checked on a little more. I’ve got a couple lose in front of my place. Little things like that."
Residents also welcomed the news.
"I think it’s an excellent idea," said Francine Champoux, a director of the homeowners association for the Chateau Waikiki, on the outskirts of the district’s main tourist drag. "Personally, if I do go to Waikiki, I will feel happy that things are cleaner."
Egged said he expects to announce a contract for supplemental security services in the Business Improvement District next week.
The district, which stretches the length of the KÂhiø-Kalakaua corridor, was established in June. It features a range of safety and sanitation features aimed at improving the area, and is managed by the association, a nonprofit corporation of businesses.
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