Posted on: Tuesday, September 9, 2003

EDITORIAL
Cordon off grass area, let public use park

You can look at the brand-new downtown oasis known as Smith-Beretania Park, but you can't touch. The city isn't allowing the public inside the black iron fence and gates because the grass hasn't "taken hold."

Ordinarily, we'd have no problem waiting for the grass to grow. But this particular park has been plagued with delays for more than two decades, and this is just the latest frustration in this densely populated corner of Chinatown.

Moreover, while there's a basketball court and a state-of-the-art underground parking lot, the park lacks the most fundamental details: benches and playground equipment. Hopefully, those features will be added sooner than later because elderly folks need to sit while they're watching the little ones play.

Why the impatience? Well, Smith-Beretania Park has suffered countless delays since the city agreed to build it in 1981 as part of the Honolulu Tower condominium package. The developer, Charles A. Pankow Development Corp., agreed to pay $6 million toward parking and the park, which would serve as an oasis in the dense urban area. Ground wasn't broken until a decade later.

The park was to open in July of this year, but as we now know, the city is waiting for the grass to grow. We suggest the city rope off the grass areas and bring life to the place after 20 years of stop and go.