Crowds test expanded parking at shopping malls
| • | It pays to pick a spot quickly |
By Mike Leidemann
Advertiser Transportation Writer
Honolulu's shopping malls, which have spent millions to add thousands of parking spaces in recent years, start to find out today whether the money was well spent.
"There's a direct connection between parking and retail," said Grant Murakami, president of the American Planning Association's Hawai'i chapter. "Parking is a critical factor in where people decide to shop."
Eugene Tanner • The Honolulu Advertiser
Looking for a place to park? According to mall managers and merchants, these are the best bets for finding a parking spot:
Ala Moana Center
'Ewa side of Sears. Go up the ramp at Waimanu Street and turn right.
Kahala Mall
Double-decker parking structure fronting Long's. Enter from Kilauea Avenue.
Pearlridge Center
Parking structure behind Sizzler. Enter from Moanalua Road.
Ward Center
Across from Borders. Enter from Auahi Street. Parking extends to Garden Office Building.
Windward Mall
Behind Kane'ohe Post Office. Enter Kawa Street from Kahuhipa or Mehana Street.
Graphics by Mike Leidemann and Greg Taylor • The Honolulu Advertiser
Today, known as the biggest shopping day of the year, is the standard by which malls measure their parking capacity, according to retail analysts. That means most mall managers and store owners hope to see their lots full but not turning away frustrated drivers.
"We think we've got quite adequate facilities now to handle the demand, but hopefully if business is good we will be all filled up," said Dwight Yoshimura, Ala Moana Center's general manager.
To meet the hoped-for demand and compete for market share in a shrinking economy, malls across O'ahu have been beefing up parking structures, spending millions of dollars that have no payback except in increased customers.
• Ala Moana Center has added more than 1,000 parking spaces in the past two years, for a total of more than 9,000. That makes it the largest parking facility in the state, eclipsing the 8,000 spaces at Aloha Stadium. The University of Hawai'i parking structure can handle about 5,000 vehicles.
• Kahala Mall has increased parking by 15 percent in recent years, double-decking several existing parking areas. The mall has more than 2,100 parking spaces.
• Windward Mall brought its total parking to 2,466 stalls with the addition of a second-story parking area near the new Consolidated Theatres movie complex.
• Victoria-Ward Centers has added more than 1,500 spots in the past few months, in part to accommodate crowds headed for its new Ward Entertainment Center and to ease the burden on parking at nearby Ward Centre and Ward Warehouse.
But none of that matters unless customers believe it will be easier to park than before, said Stephany Sofos, a Honolulu real estate consultant.
"Parking is all about perception. It's not how many spaces there are, but how easy people think it is to get in and out," Sofos said.
A recent study shows an average shopper spends one hour in a mall today, down from 2.5 hours 10 years ago.
"So it's not enough to just have the space," Sofos said. "It's got to be convenient to use, too."
"We've got plenty of free parking, but we're not maximizing it," said Chester Hughes, director of facilities services for Victoria Ward. "You still see people circling around in the same place, when just 50 feet away there's another lot with plenty of open spaces."
In recent months Victoria Ward has built 450 spaces in a new parking structure in the entertainment complex, paved another 230 spots across the street from the movie theaters, and opened more than 500 new spaces at night in an industrial area behind the Farmer's Market. It has even offered to pay moviegoers $1 to park at night in two other lots at the ends of the shopping district.
"For some reason, we haven't been able to convince people to spread out a little," Hughes said. "The lot next to Starbucks is jammed, and 50 feet away there's a lot that's only 25 percent filled."
Murakami says that's a common problem.
"Retail establishments always want to have an open space right in front of their property," he said. "The longer a person has to walk, the less they want to shop."
Malls can't just add parking and expect more people to come, Murakami said. Mall managers have to balance the need to meet peak needs with the cost of unused parking space the rest of the year.
"Appearance is something that needs to be addressed too," he said. "We've got to find ways to entice people into the parking."
Sofos thinks some people may find Ala Moana's new multi-tiered parking structure on the mauka side of Sears intimidating rather than inviting.
"In some ways the new structure makes parking there look even more congested than ever," she said.
By contrast, Victoria Ward's parking, spread out over several blocks with many entry points, seems more inviting, she said.
To counter such image problems, designers of parking structures on the Mainland try to incorporate better landscaping, lighting and even some retail stores inside the parking areas.
"If you can put a row of shops along the front of a parking structure, you can pretty much disguise it and invite more people inside," Murakami said.
Still, no matter how well-designed a parking structure, it has to be functional, mall managers say.
"The bottom line of my job is that I've got to make sure they've got a space to park if they want to come here," Hughes said.
By this afternoon, he'll know how well he's doing.
Mike Leidemann reports on transportation issues. Reach him at mleidemann@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-5460.
