Carnival planned for Hawaii Kai draws opposition

A planned carnival in Hawaii Kai to benefit two youth programs has stirred community concerns of traffic and pedestrian safety.

"The impact on the community is going to be huge," said Paige Altonn, a member of the Hawaii Kai Neighborhood Board.

The Hawaii Kai Community Carnival will be held March 14-16 and again on March 21-23. Proceeds will benefit Kaiser High School’s football team and Hawaii Speed and Quickness, a nonprofit organization that provides sports training and mentoring to youths.

The carnival will be held on a strip of preservation-zoned land across from Maunalua Bay between Hawaii Kai Drive and Keahole Street along Kalanianaole Highway. The parcel is the same site on which landowner Kamehameha Schools has considered developing a shopping center after the Hawaii Kai Foodland was forced to close in 2011.

Altonn said holding the carnival at the site in proximity to the highway will create traffic and parking congestion, and that she is concerned about safety.

The Hawaii Kai carnival is being compared to the size of the Punahou Carnival, which is held annually over just one weekend.

"They’re doing it for two full weekends. We are a one-way in, one-way out community. The traffic alone is going to be insane," Altonn said. "You can’t find parking on any street during the Punahou Carnival."

Altonn received a handful of emails and calls from the area residents who raised concerns about traffic, parking and crime. Kaiser High is an appropriate and safe site to hold the fundraiser, she said, questioning why the event isn’t being held there.

Kaiser football coach Rich Miano said the site for the carnival provides visibility in hopes of reaching out to various nonprofit organizations to benefit more youth programs in the future. Special-duty police officers will be throughout the area to monitor traffic. If all goes well, he hopes the carnival will become an annual event.

Miano, who also serves as president of Hawaii Speed and Quickness, said it would be difficult to hold the carnival at Kaiser High. "There are things you have to go through to hold it at the school," he said.

"Anything done in Hawaii Kai is always scrutinized. People have to see the benefits of this carnival as well as the potential," Miano said.

Kamehameha Schools supports the event, said spokesman Kekoa Paulsen. This is the first time the landowner received a request to use the site for a carnival, he said.

E.K. Fernandez Shows is paying Kamehameha Schools an undisclosed fee to use the location.