Street work challenges Chinatown businesses
By James Gonser
Advertiser Urban Honolulu Writer
Work started Monday on a city reconstruction project on Maunakea Street in Chinatown that includes improving the cracked sidewalks and repaving the pitted road from King to Beretania streets, but businesses will have to put up with parking restrictions and construction noise for the next five months until work is completed.
Gregory Yamamoto • The Honolulu Advertiser
The project, which costs $957,810, is a product of the area vision team.
One lane of Maunakea Street near the King Street intersection is blocked while the Chinatown roadway is being reconstructed. The Maunakea project may last up to five months.
Similar work was done along King Street in Chinatown in 1999, and merchants at the time complained that the lack of parking and access to their shops resulted in months of lost revenue.
Businesses on Maunakea, struggling to rebound from the recent SARS scare, fear another drop in business during the project, and yesterday it was evident that customers were avoiding the deafening jackhammers, closed sidewalk and traffic jam to shop elsewhere.
"I expect at least a month of little business," said Jerry Cheng, owner of Jerry's Jade & Fine Jewelry at 1013 A Maunakea St. "Nobody wants to come inside."
Maunakea is one of the classic Chinatown streets with historic buildings on both sides that for decades have been used for pastry shops and restaurants, lei stands and vegetable markets, jewelry stores and herb stalls that impart the rich atmosphere of the area.
At 10 a.m., the start of the busiest period of the shopping day, shopkeepers stood in the doorways of their empty stores watching construction crews rip up the street.
• Who: Downtown Neighborhood Board • What: City presentation on the Maunakea Street improvement project. • When: 7 p.m. tomorrow • Where: The Pauahi Recreation Center, 171 N. Pauahi St.
The Diamond Head side of Maunakea was blocked off for equipment, and sawhorses were placed along both sides of the busy one-way street with flashing yellow lights and notices of no parking between 7 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. weekdays.
Public meeting
Michiko Singh was one of the few people who braved the construction tape and noise to purchase a lei.
"I don't have a car," she said. "I ride my bike, so it's not a problem for me."
During a recent walk-through by city officials, shop owners were told that a walkway would be constructed to their building and that their customers would have access at all times except when work was being done directly outside.
"We will continue to improve and revitalize Chinatown," said Ben Lee, city managing director. "All our past improvements have had a very positive impact and helped the economic vitality of merchants and shops in the Chinatown area."
The project, which will be discussed at the Downtown Neighborhood Board meeting tomorrow, includes demolishing and removing the sidewalks, concrete pavement and curbs and gutters. The contractor will salvage and reset existing lava rock curbs and construct new concrete curbs, gutters and curb ramps. New sidewalk slabs with stone paver tiles will be installed along with new traffic and street signs and new fire hydrants.
The contractor also will adjust water meters, sewer cleanouts and sewer manholes, and the street will be graded and repaved and new traffic signal systems installed.
There are several lei shops on Maunakea Street that depend on easy access for their customers. Karen Lau-Lee, manager of Cindy's Lei & Flower Shoppe at 1034 Maunakea St., said the work will last through her busiest time of year — Mother's Day and the graduation season — and with no parking in front of the store, she will provide curb service to deliver lei to customers who pull up.
So far the contractor has been helpful, she said, providing a contact sheet to report any problems.
"They know we are not going to be happy campers," Lau-Lee said. "But if I had too much of a bad attitude, that is not going to help."
Stanford Yuen, a neighborhood board member and vision team champion for the project, said he expects businesses to be inconvenienced only for a few days each during the project while work is done directly in front of them. He said the long-term benefits will be worth the trouble.
"There are a lot of potholes and some of the sidewalks are a couple inches below the entrance to the shops," Yuen said. "If you are not careful you could trip over it going in and out. The beautification of the area and the improvement in the pedestrian walkway when it comes to safety and access is going to be worth it.
"It's like going to the dentist. It is going to help you in the long run."
Reach James Gonser at jgonser@honoluluadvertiser.com or 535-2431.
