Posted on: Friday, October 8, 2004
Ha'iku Stairs plan calls for hiker donations
Advertiser Staff
Up to 100 hikers would visit the Ha'iku Stairs on most days under a plan to finally open the long-forbidden trail, according to a report on costs for managing access to the stairs.
Advertiser library photo The revenue could help offset the $158,000 annual cost of security guards and portable toilets, the reports says.
The 3,922-step metal "Stairway to Heaven" up the Ko'olau Range to the summit of Pu'u Keahiakahoe has been off-limits to the public since 1987. But many hikers illegally climb it every week after trespassing through state land that borders a residential neighborhood in Ha'iku Valley.
Some of the visitors have generated complaints from neighbors about parking, traffic, trespassing, garbage and the lack of restrooms. A City Council panel last week blocked a plan to allow access to the stairs through the neighborhood, but it agreed to revisit the subject later.
Some neighbors back an alternative plan to access the stairs through a trail beside the state psychiatric hospital and Windward Community College. The city spent $875,000 to renovate the stairs in 2002.
A $3 donation requested from each hiker could generate about $90,000 per year if the stairs are open six days a week and attract 75 to 100 hikers per day, according to the report by city managing director Ben Lee.
Despite the sign at the entrance to Ha'iku Stairs, many people continue to hike the trail, prompting officials to discuss ways to reopen the trail.
