Posted on: Thursday, October 10, 2002

Reopening of Haiku Stairs delayed by lawsuit worries

By Eloise Aguiar
Advertiser Windward O'ahu Writer

Signs and locked gates keep hikers away from the popular Ha'iku Stairs, a metal stairway that leads up the Ha'iku Ridge. The trail was set to reopen this month, but the city is waiting to redesign appropriate warning signs. Cory Lum • The Honolulu Advertiser

KANE'OHE — City officials have delayed reopening the Ha'iku Stairs after a recent Circuit Court decision that found the state negligent, partly because of poor signage, in the fatal 1999 rockslide at Sacred Falls.

The city has been working for two years to get the popular hiking trail reopened, spending $875,000 to renovate the stairs and working out access and liability issues with landowners. The opening of the "Stairway to Heaven" had been expected this month.

But last month's Sacred Falls decision prompted a further delay that could last weeks, perhaps months, while suitable warning signs are designed.

"We will be working with several national organizations, like the National Park Service and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, to develop the appropriate signs," said Carol Costa, city spokeswoman. "The city wants to open Ha'iku Stairs as soon as possible, but there will be a delay as we address the safety and liability issues."

The scenic 3,922-step metal stairway that climbs 2,800 feet up Ha'iku Ridge, had fallen into disrepair and was closed in 1987, though hikers continued to climb until locked gates blocked entry recently.

There has been concern that the Sacred Falls ruling could cause officials to restrict access on other trails and lands. And while it appears the stairs will be opened, what officials do there will offer clues to what might have to be done elsewhere.

"It's not rocket science," said Arthur Y. Park, attorney for some of the people injured or who lost family members in the Sacred Falls rockslide, which killed eight and injured 42 on Mother's Day, 1999.

"What a sign should contain is an effective warning, so people can make an intelligent decision," Park said. "If it's well designed and well placed and people disregard the sign, how can the state be at fault?"

The city and state do not have to close hiking trails, Park said.

All they have to do is properly assess the dangers and follow signage guidelines used by the National Park Service, Army Corps of Engineers or state task force on beach warning signs, Park said. He said there are good examples of appropriate signs at Diamond Head State Park and Na Pali Cliffs on Kaua'i.

Signs also must be maintained, Park said, adding that some at Sacred Falls were covered by graffiti, full of bullet holes, bent or missing. That contributed to the state losing the Sacred Falls case, he said.

Circuit Judge Dexter Del Rosario's decision said signs should attract attention, compel a person to read them and communicate information effectively, Park said.

The National Park Service directs signs to convey the real personal risk to people and protect taxpayers from frivolous lawsuits, said Brian Harry, general superintendent of the National Park Service's Pacific Island Support Office in Honolulu.

But the public should realize that a sign is not there only to avoid liability, Harry said, but because the dangers are real.

Despite risk education in federal parks, there are problems, he said. "You could do the best job in the world of educating about the real risk, but there are still risks and people are still going there."

Dayle Turner, president of the Hawaiian Trail and Mountain Club, said he wasn't surprised by the delay after the Sacred Falls decision, and hoped it wouldn't lead to a glut of signs along mountain trails or closing access to them.

Turner said he recognizes the need for signs, but still prefers trails without them. An experienced hiker would need a warning as serious as "imminent death" before turning back, he said.

Signs that say "proceed at your own risk" are not much of a deterrent, he said. "If people know the potential reward, they'll take the risk ... even with signs."

Reach Eloise Aguiar at eaguiar@honoluluadvertiser.com or 234-5266.