Letters to the Editor

Parking spaces are at premium during Brunch

There are so many good comments from residents as well as tourists for Brunch on the Beach and Sunset on the Beach.

However, many residents who come into Waikiki to enjoy these events are finding it more and more difficult to find parking. In the Kapi'olani Park area, there are so many A-frame "no parking" signs for vendors with permits that have restrictions many hours before the events even start, and then the parking spaces sit there empty for hours on end.

Hotel and restaurant workers are also finding this more and more difficult.

The city should look into this.

Margaret Giles

Bicyclists already pay their share of taxes

Regarding the May 29 letter from John Turner: Contrary to his view that drivers pay disproportionately for bicycling facilities, bicyclists pay gasoline taxes (as adult drivers) and property taxes (as residents). In addition, they already pay a special fee to register their bikes. These fees are used to construct bike facilities and to operate BikeEd, a safety program for O'ahu fourth-graders.

We agree that all cyclists should obey the traffic laws. So, for that matter, should all drivers.

And, for your information, to protect pedestrians, cyclists already are prohibited by law from riding on sidewalks in urban areas and in Waikiki.

The Hawai'i Bicycling League believes that everyone using our roads should treat all other users with courtesy. Cyclists who abuse traffic laws should note the aggressive tone of Mr. Turner's letter to understand the harm they do. Drivers troubled by "stink eye" from cyclists might find that behavior easier to bear if they appreciated that it is the cyclist most likely to be seriously injured in an accident, no matter who is at fault.

Please, ride and drive with respect for all.

John B. Kelley
President
Hawai'i Bicycling League

Apartment dwellers subsidize trash pickup

James Pollock's May 15 letter states property taxes "pay for trash pickup; everyone benefits and everyone pays. No need whatsoever for a user fee."

Councilwoman Barbara Marshall is quoted in The Advertiser on May 9 as saying, "We cannot charge people to pick up the trash."

And, Advertiser writer Treena Shapiro wrote in an article on May 9 that " ... another 80,000 households, primarily apartments, would not be affected" by the proposed trash pickup fee.

What these writers fail to reveal is that residents who live on O'ahu properties with 10 or more apartments have to pay a private hauler for all trash pickups. Although apartment owners pay property taxes at a rate that is one-third more than less-dense residential properties, the city does not pick up their trash. As a result, apartment dwellers — mostly the young, the poor, the disabled — are being required to subsidize the "free" city-provided trash pickup of the wealthy who live in less-dense residential properties. This is really class warfare.

The City Council should end this despicable inequity by providing "free" trash pickup for every residential property and pay for it by equal property rates. Alternatively, the city should reimburse the apartment dwellers their private trash pickup costs, past, present and future. Or, the city should add the real cost of trash pickup to the property taxes of each of the 160,000 households that now enjoy the city's "free" trash pickup.

It's only a matter of civil fairness and equity.

R. Rodman

Native Americans have lesson for Hawaiians

Back the Akaka bill? If you want "reservations":

• Council/government.

• Police force.

• Court system.

• Hunting and fishing anytime, anywhere for whatever was historically gathered.

• Gambling casinos.

The federal government's track record with Native Americans (Alaskans and Indians) has been sorely lacking. Is this what Native Hawaiians really want for their future and the future of their children?

Please think about it.

Henry Pundyke
Kane'ohe

Transfers allow return

Regarding the May 28 letter "Enforce proper use of transfers on buses": Using bus transfers on a return trip is allowed under current transfer rules. A transfer I received on Monday states: "Use it to change to any other route, to continue on the same route after making a stop, or to make a return trip."

Robyn Kawamoto
Mililani

Dillingham a joy ride

If you want to ride the bumper cars at the state fair, save your money. The roadway on Dillingham Boulevard is a lot more fun (not to mention other roads on O'ahu).

Charleen Alvaro
Mililani