Group updates plan for Waikiki
By James Gonser
Advertiser Urban Honolulu Writer
The Waikiki Improvement Association has finalized its goals for 2003 to make the world-famous tourist resort a better place to live, work and visit — the first major update of the business group's plans since 1999.
Deborah Booker • The Honolulu Advertiser
The agenda is not a radical departure from that of years past, but because it is formulated to work in conjunction with the city's plans for Waikiki, the hope is that the efforts will complement each other and lead to a comprehensive plan to improve the state's foremost tourist area.
The Waikiki Improvement Association's agenda includes upgrades on Kuhio Avenue, a main thoroughfare in Waikiki.
"This was a major redo because it is in conjunction with the (city's) livable communities project," said Rick Egged, president of the association. "We want to see as much of our agenda as possible included in the livable communities project final report because I think that will be a blueprint for what happens for the community in general. Once that is complete, we hope to draw up a capital improvements time line to work with the city and state on."
The federally financed Waikiki Livable Community Project focuses on a range of transportation details: shuttle bus operations, bicycle and pedestrian uses, access for the disabled, tour buses and delivery trucks, loading zones and refuse collection.
The association's agenda takes a larger look at improvements to Waikiiki, Egged said.
Its three main areas of focus are:
• Continually renewing Waikiki physically. The concept is to widen beaches, revitalize Kuhio Avenue, create a more pedestrian-friendly area, redevelop aging hotels, transform the Ala Wai Canal into an attractive asset, and integrate Waikiki more with the surrounding parks and communities.
"Waikiki's hotels, retail shops, residences, beaches, open spaces, landscapes, sidewalks, streets and public infrastructure must be kept up to date so that Waikiki's reputation as a resort of international renown is not lost to old age but is continuously enhanced," the association's agenda states.
• Welcoming visitors and residents alike. The idea is to make certain that residents are always welcome, encourage and aid visitor-resident interaction and make Waikiki accessible to local residents.
• Documenting Waikiki's role in the state's economy. The plan is to increase public understanding of Waikiki's contribution to the economy. Everyone should be concerned about what happens in Waikiki, Egged said, because it is a major component of Hawai'i's economy.
According to association statistics, Waikiki generates 26 percent, or $9.1 billion a year, of the gross state product; 27 percent, or $1.9 billion, of Hawai'i's tax revenues; and 32 percent (180,700) of its jobs.
Egged said much has been accomplished in Waikiki in recent years, including the city's work on Kalakaua Avenue and Kuhio Beach, the creation of the Business Improvement District and the sunset and brunch on the beach programs.
"A major new piece of the agenda is strengthening the bond between residents of O'ahu and Waikiki in terms of events, activities and the like," Egged said. "That is something that has really been successful beyond what we would have thought possible with a relatively modest effort in terms of money. We want to sustain the effort."
Although the association's agenda is geared toward business upgrades, Egged said the plan is compatible with Waikiki residents, who helped develop the document.
"The things they are addressing can only improve what the residents have," said Robert Finley, chairman of the Waikiki Neighborhood Board. "The (Business Improvement District) is providing people to clean Kuhio Avenue sidewalks and make it a much nicer place to walk around. They are funded by the businesses, so they have to give their primary loyalty to the businesses, but they do give us attention."
The Waikiki Improvement Association does not directly pay for area projects, but is an advocacy group that for more than 30 years has worked in partnership with business and government to identify needs, develop strategies and shape public policy in Waikiki.
One of the association's new projects will be to develop a plan, including tax incentives, private financing and zoning code modifications, to encourage redevelopment of hotels and other commercial properties.
"What will happen now is, as we redevelop Waikiki, it will be sustainable (and will) provide for economic growth and activity for the future," Egged said. "We will have a better product mix, better rooms, more activities, a more active vibrant community than we have been at any time since the '70s."
Reach James Gonser at jgonser@honoluluadvertiser.com or 535-2431.
