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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Monday, July 23, 2007

Bill would cut 35,000 Oahu parking spaces

Video: Bill targets Oahu parking
StoryChat: Comment on this story

By Gordon Y.K. Pang
Advertiser Staff Writer

Hawaii news photo - The Honolulu Advertiser

The City Council is proposing a bill that would require city streets to have a minimum 12 feet of clearance for passing vehicles instead of the 10 feet that is the minimum now.

Photos by BRUCE ASATO | The Honolulu Advertiser

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WHAT'S NEXT

City Council Bill 48 would mandate that cars must not park on a street if doing so leaves less than 12 feet of open roadway. The current law sets the minimum at 10 feet. The bill got preliminary approval on July 5 and is expected to be heard again in the Transportation Committee on Aug. 2.

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Hawaii news photo - The Honolulu Advertiser

The bill was proposed over concern that emergency vehicles would be blocked along narrow roadways. But estimates show that about 35,000 parking stalls could be lost if the measure passes.

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With the fate of an estimated 35,000 parking stalls on O'ahu streets hanging in the balance, City Council members are considering a bill intended to make sure that emergency vehicles have room to get where they need to go.

Current law says a parked vehicle must leave a minimum of 10 feet of clearance, or right of way, for other vehicles to drive through. The proposal calls for that minimum to go to 12 feet.

City Transportation Services Director Melvin Kaku said his staff estimated 35,000 stalls could be lost as a result of increasing the width of right-of-ways.

"This is an extremely high number of spaces that residents count on for daily use and would create a hardship for many people," Kaku said, in his written testimony urging council members to kill the bill.

On an Island where it's common for three or more generations to live under the same roof and each adult to have a car, the plan could have a huge impact.

Council Transportation Chairman Nestor Garcia said he's glad the subject has been raised. "I think it's a legitimate public safety question," he said. "You want to make sure that the emergency providers are there to provide in an emergency situation.

"This is something that happens close to home, literally right outside your front door," Garcia said.

Michael Lum, a member of the Waiau Community Association, submitted testimony to the council this month in favor of the bill. "Within the past year, the parked car population in our area has increased because residents bring home company cars, more family members have cars or visitors to the area have increased," Lum said.

"This increases the demand for curbside parking, causing some drivers to ignore parking regulations," he said. "Cars parked on both sides of narrow streets restrict visibility and cause traffic to cross over into opposing lanes."

Still, the bill has run into opposition since Kaku released his estimate that 35,000 parking spaces could be lost if it was enacted.

PROPOSAL TO KILL BILL

Councilman Gary Okino, who introduced the bill at the request of a constituent, said he will recommend the council kill the measure in light of Kaku's estimate.

"I don't think it's going to go anywhere," Okino said. "I don't think it's going to get enough support if we're going to eliminate that many spaces. There are a lot of 20-foot streets (from sidewalk to sidewalk) that would be affected, which would mean removal of parking along one side of the street."

And while the proposed law is designed to ensure that there's enough space for ambulances and fire trucks to get through, public safety officials say the bill isn't necessary.

Fire, EMS and police officials all said initially that they supported the bill. But after hearing what Kaku had to say about the impact the proposal would have on neighborhoods with narrower streets, they now are saying that they don't feel the bill is necessary.

Fire Capt. Terry Seelig, Honolulu Fire Department spokesman, said there shouldn't be a problem with the existing 10-foot clearance law. The widest vehicles in the department's fleet are 9 feet, 8 inches from mirror to mirror, he said. The body of those trucks, however, is only 8 feet wide.

"Most of the time, we don't have obstructions," Seelig said. He said the department does not keep records on how often or where it has asked for parking restrictions.

Given the impact the proposed legislation could have on the parking situation, Seelig said, the department supports the intent of the bill "but we agree with the DTS position that realistically, the present process works."

Both Seelig and Bryan Cheplic, Emergency Medical Services spokesman, said a blocked street is no reason for personnel from either agency to stop trying to help those in need.

"If we run into an obstruction, we're prepared to respond," Seelig said. "We'll go on foot if necessary. Of course it's going to slow us down, but we're going to continue our response and get the job done."

Cheplic said city ambulances are about 9 feet, 5 inches wide from mirror to mirror and so generally do not see problems with the 10-foot clearance law.

Even without the passage of this bill, there is already a procedure in place for agencies and the public to restrict on-street parking, said Kaku, the city Transportation Services director.

First, parking may be restricted if transportation officials deem it necessary following an on-site investigation and a three-year analysis of the accident history of an area, he said.

Parking restrictions may also be considered when there is a request by an agency such as fire, police and emergency services, Kaku said.

SENSITIVE ISSUE

Even when it is determined that a parking restriction is not warranted, a restriction may be imposed if 90 percent or more "of all the directly affected/abutting property owners sign a petition supporting the restriction and the local homeowners association (if applicable) supports the restriction," he said.

The issue is a sensitive one for those living on older, narrower streets and sometimes will pit neighbor versus neighbor.

On tiny 'Iao Lane in Palama, for instance, some neighbors favor on-street parking because they put their cars there, while others oppose it because they don't like cars parked in front of their homes.

Bruce Barrett, Castle & Cooke Homes Hawaii vice president, testified in opposition to the bill. He said subdivision rules adopted by the city in 2000 take into consideration adequate space for emergency vehicles.

The cost of building streets in Hawai'i is already expensive, he said, while studies show that narrow streets actually help to slow traffic and reduce accidents.

"Instead of revising these standards wholesale and inducing higher costs for road construction and subsequent maintenance and compromising pedestrian and vehicular safety, it may be more appropriate to address the issue of nonconforming streets."

The homebuilder proposed installing proper signage along substandard streets to warn unsuspecting motorists.

Reach Gordon Y.K. Pang at gpang@honoluluadvertiser.com.