Wai'alae Beach Park to get new look
By Suzanne Roig
Advertiser East Honolulu Bureau
Chunks of sidewalk are being ripped out and the restrooms are getting a sprucing-up at Wai'alae Beach Park.
Richard Ambo • The Honolulu Advertiser
Crews began work Monday on the first phase of a face lift for the 4.3-acre park. It is among the community's first city vision projects, said Lucinda Pyles, a Kahala resident and member of the city vision team.
Bob Takafuji of Shibata Construction keeps a sidewalk mold wet while waiting for a concrete truck to arrive in Kahala. Sidewalk repairs, landscaping and repairs to the bathhouse are part of $60,000 worth of improvements to Wai'alae Beach Park.
With its large banyan tree providing shade over the parking lot and Hao tree-shaded picnic area, the park has become a favorite among residents and visitors.
"Some of the improvements are things we had been hoping for," said Toni Robinson, city Department of Parks and Recreation East Honolulu district manager. "It's a very beautiful park."
The group envisioned showers, upgraded bathrooms, light fixtures, a new roof, a painted bridge and, later, a promenade on either side of the canal, she said.
"We primarily wanted to improve the bathhouse," Pyles said. "It turned out that the city had set aside money to install an outdoor shower.
"We wanted to give the park, in general, a face lift."
Pyles said it was important to the community, as it is the only beach park and is heavily used by visitors to the nearby Kahala Mandarin Oriental Hawai'i, who like to walk along the beach.
The first phase of the project cost $130,000 for design and construction. The second phase, which includes the promenade along the canal, could begin as early as next year, Robinson said.
Meanwhile, the hotel has adopted the park and plans to make improvements three times a year, said Debora Bridges, hotel director of communications.
Already the hotel has had 33 volunteers out painting the bridge.
"They can do a lot of the work that the day-to-day maintenance workers can't do," Robinson said. "It saves the city a lot of money."
"We ultimately want to make the beach park more user friendly for the elderly, handicapped and for families," Pyles said. "We want to be able to walk along the bridge on the sides of the canal."
People in the community have been talking about the need for a face lift for the park, said Pyles.
"It was in a poor state."
