Work on skate parks halted
By Suzanne Roig
Advertiser East Honolulu Writer
HAWAI'I KAI — Work has been suspended at the community's two skating facilities at Kamiloiki Community Park while designers comply with accessibility issues for the disabled and hear concerns from skateboarders.
Eighteen months after the first discussion about the need for skating facilities in Hawai'i Kai, skaters have another four to six weeks to wait for rinks that had been scheduled for completion by the end of last year.
Work should resume soon at the inline hockey rink, said Carol Costa, city spokeswoman.
Street skaters, forced out of the Park and Ride Facility on Keahole Street, have been watching the progress of the facility at the corner of Lunalilo Home Road and Hawai'i Kai Drive since October, when work began.
Inline hockey skaters, who have been using a basketball court at Kamiloiki Community Park for their practice field, have been looking for signs that their rink is completed.
While the 40 or so inline skaters from Hawai'i Kai and a number of skateboarders have been excited by the prospect of having something built for them in their own community, they're frustrated by the slow pace of construction.
Work was halted several weeks ago when the Commission on Persons with Disabilities pointed out that the perimeter barriers needed modifications to comply with federal access requirements, Costa said. Those revisions are expected to add $3,500 to the $1.2 million project.
"There isn't much left to do," said Wayne Giancaterino, coach of the Hawai'i Kai Ducks, the inline skating group. "The players are very disappointed that it's not done yet. Every practice they look (at) it, and it's already formed and ready to pour the concrete. They can't understand why it can't be done."
In July 2000, Mayor Jeremy Harris promised a group of skateboarders and inline skaters that he would build a place for them by last fall.
In the meantime, Harris had two temporary outdoor skate ramps built at the district park.
The city plans to build as many as five more skating facilities by the end of the year.
The Keolu Neighborhood Park facility in Kailua will open this month. It will be the state's biggest skate park, with 15,000 square feet of surface.
Reach Suzanne Roig at sroig@honoluluadvertiser.com or 395-8831.
