Kaimuki celebrates Wai'alae Avenue makeover
By James Gonser
Advertiser Urban Honolulu Writer
After almost a year of noise, construction, dust and parking problems on Wai'alae Avenue, Kaimuki residents are relieved that Phase 1 of the business district revitalization is finally over, and they are ready to celebrate.
Cory Lum • The Honolulu Advertiser
For the first time, Wai'alae Avenue between 11th and Koko Head avenues along with a portion of 12th Avenue will be closed for a community block party Saturday to show off the area's new look.
Jazmin Kekahuna, left, and Desiree Fonseca enjoy a frozen treat at Eddies Burgers and Frozen Custard, one of the newest additions to an old neighborhood business district looking for revitalization in a $2.6 million city project.
"It's so exciting. Businesses and people from the community want to celebrate," said Ginny Meade, a member of the Greater East Honolulu Community Alliance and the city's community liaison for the Kaimuki improvements. "I have 50 to 60 merchants and vendors who are so enthusiastic and doing so many different things for the event."
Between 5 p.m. and 9 p.m. three entertainment stages will be set up in the newly paved street for live music, hula and theatrical performances. Many of the restaurants that call Kaimuki home will set up food booths, costumed samba dancers will wander the streets and the Kuo Min Tang Society Chinese dragon and lion will perform.
• What: Block party sponsored by the Greater East Honolulu Community Alliance and the city, • When: Begins at 9:30 a.m. Saturday with a blessing for the business district renovation. Children's games and community booths will be set up at Kaimuki Community Park. At 5 p.m. Wai'alae Avenue from Sierra Drive to Koko Head Avenue will be closed to traffic and area restaurants and shops will set up food and craft booths. Three stages will be used for free entertainment and a block of 12th Avenue will also be closed. • Parking: Available at Kaimuki High School, St. Patrick's School and Sacred Hearts Academy. A free trolley service will transport people to and from the block party.
"We have wonderful restaurants and great little shops, but they are not getting enough exposure," Meade said. "People come to eat, and then they leave. The reason for making it pedestrian friendly and then hopefully revitalizing some of the store fronts and that sort of thing, is so that people will stroll around, go and see things. It was a hard thing to get through, but we have had all the disruptions and now we are going to make this work for all of us."
Kaimuki Kanikapila
The Kaimuki business district has been suffering since the 1960s when the expanded H-1 Freeway allowed customers to bypass Wai'alae Avenue. Kress, Ben Franklin, Thrifty Drugs, all former anchor stores, ultimately closed, leaving empty spaces and small businesses struggling to survive.
Until recently, the business district had changed little in the past 40 years. Shops are packed tightly along Wai'alae Avenue where the old trolley from Honolulu used to end. It is an island of businesses surrounded on all sides by residential areas. Thousands of area residents carry memories of parades, snack shops and watching movies in theaters that are long closed or no longer exist.
Two years ago the area vision team devised a plan to reverse the fortunes of Kaimuki. Work began on the $2.6 million project last September.
Today, the overhead wiring on Wai'alae has been buried except for the electrical lines, which were moved to taller poles on the mauka side of the street. "Bulb outs" were created to separate street parking and make it easier for pedestrians to cross. Planters boxes have been placed every 30 feet or so in the 10-foot-wide sidewalks. The plants and trees in the boxes will eventually grow into a canopy of green.
Several restaurants have placed tables and chairs outside their shops to take advantage of the new space, lending a sidewalk cafe air.
The 11-month project caused headaches for customers trying to negotiate the work crews, and some merchants said revenues were off as much as 50 percent. Papa John's Pizza Wai'alae store closed halfway through the project "due to parking restrictions both for our customers and delivery drivers," according to company president Jeff Jervik.
But in its place, Eddies Burgers and Frozen Custard has opened and will hold its grand opening during the celebration Saturday featuring a search light, antique cars and free samples.
"I think a block party is a great thing. It's very good timing for us," said Jim Hamachek, managing partner of Eddies Burgers. "The widened sidewalks give us some room to put a couple tables outside and a bench for people to sit on. The greenery and the trees are a great improvement."
City transportation director Cheryl Soon said pedestrian safety has been an important part of the changes. Sidewalks at the corners of three intersections along Wai'alae Avenue are slightly extended into the street, increasing visibility for pedestrians and motorists and shortening the distance pedestrians need to cross the street.
Phase 2, which is about to begin, will have a less direct impact on the business district and will include traffic control work on 12th Avenue, restriping the municipal parking lot 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.
Still to come in the revitalization effort is a plan to improve parking. The tight parking situation is seen as a limiting factor to growth and a frustrating problem for customers who circle the crowded lots hunting for open spaces.
Reach James Gonser at jgonser@honoluluadvertiser.com or 535-2431.
