The city has formed a 13-person committee to put together recommendations about the future of a popular hike up an abandoned tramway on the side of Koko Crater.

The members represent the hiking community and users of nearby Koko Head Shooting Complex as well as the Hawai'i Kai Neighborhood Board and other community groups. City parks department staff, including the Koko Head Shooting Complex range master, also serve on the committee.

"Everything's going quite well," Tom Mendes, president of the Hawaiian Trail and Mountain Club and a committee member, said on Friday. "It's a very collaborative effort." The group held its first meeting May 15 and its second meeting on Thursday.

City officials closed the tramway in February, citing the potential danger from live fire at the shooting complex, then reopened it the same day following public outcry and a rally at the base of the tracks.

Lester Chang, director of the city Department of Parks and Recreation, appeared later that month before the Hawai'i Kai Neighborhood Board and a crowd of about 300 people and assured them that the city would explore ways to keep the tramway open.

Chang said Friday that he hopes to see the group's recommendations by the end of summer.

"From what I understand, the committee is working very well together to develop doable actions," he said in an e-mail message.

The World War II-era tramway was built by the Army to transport staff and materials to the Koko Crater summit. No single group has been maintaining the wooden ties since the tramway ceased its official use, but hundreds of people hike and exercise there each week.

The committee is also tasked with evaluating safety risks that the route in its current condition poses to hikers, and whether live fire from the shooting range is a real danger.

Since the future of the attraction came into question in February, the number of hikers attempting the climb to the 1,208-foot summit has increased noticeably, with officials counting as many as 750 people scaling the tramway on Memorial Day alone.

Because of the tramway's popularity, there is a sense of urgency to at least inform hikers of potential safety hazards on the route, said David Tanabe, a Hawai'i Kai Neighborhood Board member who serves on the committee.

"Signs would be an important first step ... to have some education out there so the using public has at least some understanding that this is not a trail, it's a tramway," he said.

The tramway falls within Koko Head District Park and has never been a designated trail. Tanabe said one of the biggest issues going forward is that the city has never maintained a trail before — or dealt with the legal concerns of maintaining one.

"It's a new issue for them," he said. "They're trying their best to get ahead of it and make sure that everybody gets a chance here to make sure the tramway stays open."

Funding is also an issue, whether for signs, additional safety measures at the shooting range, trail maintenance or a formal study of safety risks.

Tanabe noted that since February numerous individuals and groups, including the Hawaiian Trail and Mountain Club, have offered to pitch in to help the city maintain the trail.

"I think the goal is they want to keep it open," he said. "But they just don't know how to do it."