Community regains use of 'A'ala Park
By James Gonser
Advertiser Urban Honolulu Writer
Homeless people still frequent 'A'ala Park on the edge of Chinatown and a few drug dealers still lurk around the fringes of the 4-acre public playground, but families and children have become the dominant park users and everyone can feel safe there, according to city officials.
Jeff Widener • The Honolulu Advertiser
Ben Lee, city managing director, said that in the year since major renovations were completed at 'A'ala Park, decades of illegal activities have been reversed and it has been successfully returned to the community.
Tom Peralta, of GP Maintenance Solutions, sprays on a protective coating at the men's restrooms at 'A'ala Park to guard against mildew and stains. Grace Pacific donated the sealant to the city for a demonstration project.
"We have taken back the park," said Lee. "The homeless no longer sleep here. It is well lit and well used and with the help of residents and police it is safe."
Chad Hiyakumoto, who owns 'A'ala Park Boardshop on nearby College Walk, agreed that the park is cleaner and safer and that more residents are using it.
"We see a lot more people coming through," said Hiyakumoto. "New faces. I totally gauge that. We see a lot more kids coming down here."
The city spent $2.3 million to renovate the park. The work, combined with the Weed & Seed crime-fighting program and a two-year shutdown for repair work, moved out drug dealers and prostitutes and cleared the way for the community to reclaim the area, he said.
The city built basketball courts and softball fields, refurbished the 10,000-square-foot skateboard rink and the comfort station, put in a new water system and play apparatus, made walkways wheelchair-accessible and improved the lighting.
"I was hoping we would get more use of the ball fields," Lee said, "but there are kids in the playground, the basketball courts are well used and so is the skateboard rink."
The comfort station at 'A'ala Park is one of the few open public restrooms in Chinatown and continues to be heavily used by the homeless population in the area.
Workers for GP Maintenance Solutions, a subsidiary of Grace Pacific Corp., spent several hours yesterday applying MicroGuard, a glass-like coating that serves as a sealant in the restrooms to prevent mildew, stains and oxidation. It also allows graffiti to be easily removed with alcohol.
The coating was donated by Grace Pacific at an estimated cost of $10,000 for a project demonstrating how it could be used at comfort stations across the island. "We hope that this product will make it easier for park maintenance people to go in and clean it so they can be doing other things than hours cleaning the restrooms," Lee said.
David Takiguchi, manager of GP Maintenance Solution, said the city has been searching for a product that can coat and protect the floors and walls of public facilities and reduce the smell.
Hiyakumoto, who helped design the skateboard rink for the city, said youngsters who use the rink are wary of using the restroom because it is not always clean and is heavily used by homeless people. A deranged homeless man stabbed a skateboarder in the park recently, he said.
"A lot of them are afraid to go in that direction in the park at night," Hiyakumoto said.
Hiyakumoto said new problems have arisen in the last year, including public urinating, overzealous enforcement of the rink's closure hours, and the small parking lot being used as a drop-off point for homeless people selling various types of merchandise.
Police Lt. Robert Green said crime activity in the park has dropped, thanks to a combined effort of law enforcement and neighborhood security watch patrols.
"We really want the park for the citizens of this community, and that is who is using it," Green said. "It is a continuing process to fight crime but this is a safe place and that is what we want."
