Aloha Tower security risk questioned
By Mike Gordon
Advertiser Staff Writer
Last September, when the shock of the terrorist attacks on the United States was fresh, closing historic landmarks "temporarily" was easy for people to understand.
Richard Ambo • The Honolulu Advertiser
Seven months later, the sign at the elevator to the Aloha Tower observation decks still reads "temporarily closed," and state transportation officials are unable to say what security concerns have prompted that decision or why it remains off-limits to visitors.
Until Aloha Tower was closed in the aftermath of Sept. 11 terrorism on the Mainland, nearly 5,000 people visited the 10-story tower each week.
They also would not say why the sign says the closure is temporary even though it has been shuttered indefinitely. But Jadine Urasaki, deputy director for the Department of Transportation, yesterday said the tower may be re-opened early this summer if the state can hire private security guards.
Before it was closed, nearly 5,000 people a week visited the 10-story tower. It is the state's second-most recognizable landmark; Diamond Head tops that list.
Aloha Tower Marketplace officials have been frustrated by the closure "and the fact that we can't get a straight answer as to when it will reopen," said Todd Hedrick, general manager for the marketplace.
"We have had people come back to Hawai'i on a second visit and say, 'It's still closed?' "
Hedrick said he took his questions to Gov. Ben Cayetano and was told two weeks ago that the governor had ordered transportation officials to reopen the deck as soon as possible.
Keeping the tower closed this long has been an overreaction, Hedrick said. While historic, the tower is not in the same league as other potential targets.
"Should we be concerned about security? Yes," he said. "But should we have to post a guard at the bottom of the tower? No."
