Nekota, 73, who is semi-retired, said most people don't want to stay out in the hot sun. With some shade trees, he sees people watching ballgames, picnicking and playing outdoors. Right now, the park has dead and diseased trees and no sprinkler system to keep it green, he said.

"I'm sure people would come out on the weekends, talk story and enjoy the park," he said. "Right now, it's just blah."

A just-released list of 18 city projects that are being canceled includes the $82,000 landscaping project at the Palolo park. The projects total more than $12.4 million. Most of the individual projects cost less than a million dollars each.

Hannemann, who took office in January, has been looking to cut from the budget to help pay for mounting debt and such basic city services as road repairs, sewer work and rising employee expenses. His message has been that projects should meet the "need-to-have" test and not just be "nice to have."

An Advertiser review of the list indicates that half of the projects were proposed by community "vision teams." Engineers at the city Department of Design and Construction have been analyzing projects to see where money could be saved.

Several involve landscaping, new sidewalks and park improvements — not ambitious big-ticket items but more of the smaller improvements that people like to see in their neighborhoods.

Eugene Lee, city deputy director of Design and Construction, said many of the canceled projects initially won approval years ago and the costs have risen, some are less urgent than others, and some the city just can't afford right now.

Here are some canceled projects and why the city says they were cut:

• Softball field lighting in 'A'ala Park: The field is little used and there were design problems with the foundation for the lights.

Bernie Young, chairwoman of the Kalihi-Palama Neighborhood Board, said she supported the lighting as part of much-needed improvements to help the community take back the park from the homeless who congregate there.

"We have a big park in the area but we have lost our park to the homeless," Young said. She had hoped that the softball field and lights would help attract young families.

But she said she understands "if (the mayor) sees fit to cancel it because there's no money in the coffers."

• Chinatown anti-crime cameras: The project was bid years ago and the equipment called for is outdated now, Lee said.

• Bikeways across the island: Lee said the projects were delayed and costs went up.

• Sign to welcome people to Whitmore Village: Lee said the city needed approval from the state to put the sign there and it ended up classified as "nice to have."

• Lighting for art in Chinatown: The verdict was "nice to have," Lee said.

Nekota worries that without beautification at the Palolo park, many retirees will just "sit in a rocking chair and look at the ceiling."

Nekota said Palolo doesn't get the attention of nearby Manoa or Mo'ili'ili. "We're treated as second-rate citizens," he said.

Palolo Neighborhood Board Chairwoman Charlene Nakayama said she's frustrated the landscaping won't be done at the district park after seven years of planning and seeing about $200,000 spent on earlier stages of the park improvement project.

"Oh, my goodness," she said. "We have so many dead trees and not enough shade. It's something that the residents of the valley wanted for so many years."

Lee said the most costly project on the canceled list is a major reconstruction of Beretania Street, from North King Street to Alapa'i Street, including the area that fronts the State Capitol, with a price tag of more than $7.6 million.

Lee said that project was canceled because of a glitch in the bidding process. But once officials reviewed the plan, they decided it wasn't as urgent as other roadwork. He said the city may seek new bids or may postpone indefinitely. "It's not as bad a lot of other streets," he said.

The low bidder company on that project was James W. Glover Ltd.

Company vice president John Romanowski said he's disappointed to learn the work is being canceled although he understands the urge to conserve.

"This section of road needs to be rebuilt before it does fail," Romanowski said. "The best thing the mayor can do is to start taking care of the roads that are good."

Lee said the city also examined and canceled plans for asphalt-concrete sidewalks — which have concrete sides with black-top centers — in neighborhoods across O'ahu.

Lee said the projects were proposed by communities because city officials can approve that style of "pathway" directly and not await the longer, sidewalk improvement process that requires area residents share the cost of the new walkways.

He said officials find the asphalt-concrete paths harder to maintain and more difficult to meet federal regulations for access to the disabled community.

Lee said city officials understand that people in the communities support many of these projects. "We're trying to focus on need-to-have projects," he said.

"It's not that we think they're bad projects but it's not the time for nice-to-have projects. There may be a time for them down the road," Lee said.

Reach Robbie Dingeman at 535-2429 or rdingeman@honoluluadvertiser.com.