HILO, Hawai'i — A 14-month-old law banning tobacco use at all Big Island parks has gone largely unenforced because there are none or too few signs informing people of the prohibition.

That will change starting Friday, when the first of about 40 no-smoking signs will be posted at popular Hilo parks, Parks Director Bob Fitzgerald said.

The Afook-Chinen Civic Auditorium, nearby Walter Victor Baseball Complex, Lili'uokalani Gardens and Onekahakaha Beach Park will receive signs measuring 10 inches by 12 inches each, he said.

The county's other large facilities, like Kailua, Kona's Old Airport Park, will follow, Fitzgerald said, noting county employees will make the signs.

Another 100 displaying various no-smoking messages will be donated by a tobacco-free youth group, he said.

Fitzgerald said he'd like the placement to be standardized, preferably at park entrances so users will be made aware of all the rules.

"I don't like to have signs everywhere," he said.

According to county law, "every public place and place of employment where smoking is prohibited by this article shall have posted at every entrance a conspicuous sign clearly stating that smoking is prohibited."