Kahala road goes 'green' with new trees
By Suzanne Roig
Advertiser East Honolulu Writer
Landscaping crews planted trees yesterday in the newly built Hunakai Street median near Kahala Mall, the latest in an ongoing effort by the city to "green up" O'ahu thoroughfares.
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Fourteen wiliwili trees were planted between Pueo and Pahoa streets. The median reduced Hunakai Street from four lanes to two, plus room for curbside parking. The area near Kahala Mall will remain four lanes.
William Agpaoa of Hawaiian Landscaping shovels dirt near wiliwili trees planted yesterday on a new median on Hunakai Street near Kahala Mall. A similar project is set for Lunalilo Home Road in Hawai'i Kai in 2004.
Grass will be planted next around the trees. The project is expected to cost about $325,000, city spokeswoman Carol Costa said.
A city vision project first planned in 1999, the tree-lined median is intended to create a green buffer around Kahala and to slow traffic on the busy street.
The city plants more than a thousand trees each year under a beautification drive by Mayor Jeremy Harris, Costa said. Other recent landscaped medians include those on Ala Moana, various Waikiki streets, Sand Island Access Road, Punchbowl Street, Pali Highway and Kailua Road.
"It's part of his vision to green up O'ahu," Costa said. "He has a commitment to plant several thousand trees every year since 1994. The city has been named Tree City U.S.A. for 25 years running because of its ongoing forestry and tree planting program."
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The Outdoor Circle has said trees generally raise the value of a neighborhood and make it cooler. Harris has said landscaped medians help define the character of the neighborhood and slow traffic by narrowing the roadway.
The Hunakai Street project is part of Mayor Jeremy Harris' plan to green up O'ahu.
Hunakai Street residents have waited about a month between the completion of the median structure and yesterday's planting of the trees. Royal Contracting Co. is the general contractor on the job in Kahala and had difficulty finding 14 trees that met the minimum requirement of the contract, Costa said.
"The residents have been waiting to see when the trees will come," said Lee Manfredi, a member of the Wai'alae-Kahala Neighborhood Board.
Royal Contracting has also been hired to plant 52 trees along Lunalilo Home Road in Hawai'i Kai. The city has set aside $800,000 for the project, which will begin in fall 2004, Costa said.
The Hawai'i Kai project has sparked a debate among residents who say it will beautify an older section of the community and those who say it is a waste of taxpayer money.
Reach Suzanne Roig at sroig@honoluluadvertiser.com or 395-8831.
Correction: The Hunakai Street median project cost the city about $325,000. In addition, the city has set aside about $800,000 to plant 52 trees along Lunalilo Home Road. Different amounts were used in a previous version of this story.
