Parking fees go up in downtown lots
By Gordon Y.K. Pang
Advertiser Capitol Bureau
Motorists who park at seven downtown parking facilities run by the city will have to stuff more change in their pockets beginning today.
The daily parking rates at the seven municipal lots go up by 50 percent for the busiest times — from 50 cents to 75 cents per half-hour for the first two hours, and from $1 to $1.50 for each additional half-hour from 6 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.
On weekends and holidays as well as weekday evenings, the rates jump from 25 cents per half-hour to 50 cents. The maximum weekend and holiday fee will go from $2 to $3.
The lots affected are: Harbor Court, Marin Tower, Kukui Plaza, Hale Pauahi, Harbor Village, Chinatown Gateway and Kekaulike Courtyard.
Monthly rates for the seven facilities also are higher, by between $50 and $80 a stall, depending on the lot.
At least one downtown businessman was not happy with the new rates. "I don't think they're unreasonable, but it's certainly not going to help (business)," said Don Murphy, owner of Murphy's Bar and Grill. Instead of increasing rates, Murphy said, the city should be considering reducing rates as a means of encouraging people to shop, dine and conduct business downtown.
"I would love to see free parking on Saturday and Sunday," he said. Instead, he said, the new rates will simply add to the stigma that "parking's not only hard in downtown, but it's also expensive."
The City Council, by a 5-4 vote, approved the rate increase in June to help pay for the operating and maintenance expenses of the city's on- and off-street parking. While Mayor Jeremy Harris did not come up with the plan, he signed it into law.
"When we looked at the fees, they hadn't been raised in 10 years," said City Council Budget Chairwoman Ann Kobayashi. Even with the increases, she said, "it's still a good deal."
Kobayashi noted that the council made it a point not to raise parking rates in "family areas" such as the area around Kapi'olani Park and Honolulu Zoo.
Metered parking around O'ahu also will increase but not until meters are reconfigured. No timeline has been announced.
Lynne Matusow, chairwoman of the Downtown Neighborhood Board, was philosophical about the increase.
"I think it's basically become necessary because everything else has gone up," she said, noting that no one showed up to testify against the parking increases at board meetings. "And given the fact that we haven't increased these fees in so many years, the time has probably come."
Like Kobayashi, Matusow believes that "these rates are a lot cheaper than the rates at private lots." Matusow said she does not believe that the increases would dissuade O'ahu residents from coming to downtown or Chinatown.
Reach Gordon Y.K. Pang at gpang@honoluluadvertiser.com or at 525-8070.
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