Kaimuki project tough on area's retailers
By James Gonser
Urban Honolulu Writer
After more than seven months of work, a two-block stretch of Wai'alae Avenue between 11th and Koko Head is finally starting to look like "old Kaimuki." But the transformation under a city project has come at a cost.
Jeff Widener • The Honolulu Advertiser
Just about all of the area's merchants acknowledge there's been hardship attributed mainly to a lack of parking and road construction that has kept customers away. Some say business has been off as much as 50 percent since the project began in September.
The line of cones along Wai'alae Avenue indicates that the city project is not yet complete in the Kaimuki neighborhood. Merchants say lack of parking has hurt business.
A sign in the window of the former Papa John's Pizza Wai'alae store from company president Jeff Jervik says the shop went belly up "due to parking restrictions both for our customers and delivery drivers."
But most merchants say they've put up with inconvenience and a moderate drop in business and hope they'll more than make up for it when the project is complete in mid-June.
Wai'alae Avenue now has new sidewalks with planter boxes; the utility wires were removed from the makai side of the road and placed underground; "bulb-outs" have been added to slow traffic; wheelchair access cuts have been made into the corners and some old-style streetlights reminiscent of the heyday of Kaimuki are in place.
Still to come in the $2.6 million city vision team project are the harpullia trees for the planter boxes, removal of all the old utility poles and installation of new traffic signals and the remainder of the street lights.
The street itself, which now sits at the same level as the new sidewalks, will have the asphalt stripped away to its concrete base and new asphalt poured to a level below the sidewalk. That work will involve more lane closures.
But there is a light at the end of the tunnel. All phase one work is expect to be completed by mid-June, according to Rae Loui, director of the city Department of Design and Construction.
"The work seems to have taken longer than people thought," Loui said. "We appreciate the public's patience, and when completed they will see how beautifully it transforms Kaimuki."
Community leaders hope the project will bring new life to the business district, which has been static since the 1960s when the expanded H-1 Freeway allowed customers to bypass Kaimuki.
The objective is to not only bring back the look of old Kaimuki, but make it more pedestrian friendly, enticing customers to stick around and shop. The sidewalks, widened to 10 feet, will allow businesses to place awnings on their storefronts and provide outside seating.
But Reynold Shiroma, owner of Kaimuki Produce Market, said his business has been cut in half since construction began. Shiroma said customers used to be able to stop in front of his store and run in for a quick purchase. That all changed when the project began Sept. 10, he said.
There is no parking directly in front of the small produce market, and a loading zone was moved farther down the street.
"With no parking, my customers have found new places to shop," Shiroma said.
Ginny Meade, the city's community liaison for the Kaimuki improvements, said street parking has actually increased with the same number of parallel parking stalls (13) and loading zones (three) remaining along the stretch of Wai'alae and two handicapped spaces added.
With the completion of work near, some business owners are optimistic.
Another sign in the former Papa John's shop announces the opening of Eddies Burgers and Frozen Custard shop, and a construction crew is working on renovations.
"There has been a little inconvenience," said D.J. Colbert, co-owner of the metaphysical shop Prosperity Corner. "But it has been nothing compared to the benefits we will have and safety the new sidewalks provide for our elderly residents.
"Kaimuki is about unique shops, one of a kind. Customers say the area is beginning to look like (New York's) Soho district and they didn't realize how nice this area is."
Phase two will include traffic control work on 12th Avenue and improvements to the bus transit area on Koko Head Avenue. Design and construction for the $1 million vision project is included in the city's 2002-2003 fiscal budget.
Big City Diner owner Lane Muraoka said despite the improvements, parking is on everyone's mind.
"Without parking, we have no business," Muraoka said.
Meade said the parking situation will now become the focus of the Greater East Honolulu Community Alliance — a nonprofit group of residents, businesses and politicians from Waikiki, Kapahulu, Palolo and Kaimuki — which will organize public meetings.
Meade said the area's two municipal parking lots between Wai'alae and Harding avenues are 30 years old and need work. The lots have a five-hour parking limit and are used by about 100 employees and most customers eating in the area's popular restaurants. During lunch and dinner hours parking is hard to find.
"The parking grew with the business district and it is a different mix today than it was then," Meade said. "A number of ideas are going around, such as finding a better option for employees who use the lot, possibly creating short- and long-term parking and adding valet parking for peak hours.
"We are not necessarily looking at building a second level, which is what most people are concerned about. That's really not a top option. We are trying to manage what we have in a better way so it gets the use it's supposed to have."
Reach James Gonser at jgonser@honoluluadvertiser.com or 535-2431.
