Security cameras are on in Ala Moana Park

The city has installed security cameras outside a bathroom in Ala Moana Regional Park near an L&L Hawaiian Barbecue stand — a measure aimed at cutting down on park vandalism, which costs the city tens of thousands of dollars annually.

The four cameras will start rolling today.

The city spent more than $100,000 in the past year to address vandalism, much of it involving park toilets.

The city paid $1,600 for the cameras and data storage system, said Nathan Serota, spokesman for the city Department of Parks and Recreation. That’s a drop in the bucket compared with the cost of repairing vandalized bathrooms.

The 24/7 video feed will pick up activity at the entrance to the bathrooms Ewa of the park’s L&L Concession stands. The cameras are protected by “riot-proof” cases and are positioned so that tampering will be recorded. Footage from the closed-circuit cameras, which record in 1080p high-definition resolution, will be digitally stored. The cameras will record only video, not audio.

Serota said the estimate of damage caused by vandalism did not include efforts to address more intensive cases of vandalism, such as the torched comfort station at Kaiaka Bay Beach Park in Haleiwa, which required an outside contractor.

In January a toilet in the Magic Island parking lot bathroom at Ala Moana was lifted off its foundation and smashed into several pieces.

In March arsonists vandalized bathrooms at Kaiaka Bay Beach Park and Keehi Lagoon Beach Park. In May the city had to close a Kuhio Beach bathroom for nearly 24 hours after someone flushed clothing down a toilet, causing $2,500 worth of damage. Earlier that month a bathroom in Fern Community Park in Kalihi was vandalized.

In October vandals smashed a toilet and burned toilet paper in the dispenser of Whitmore Neighborhood Park, causing the city to temporarily close the facility.

The city’s new security moves might bring privacy concerns from some constituents. However, Ala Moana park user Lehua Kamoku said Friday that she doesn’t object to the city’s latest security camera installation.

“The shower area and changing area is worse than usual. I hope the security cameras help clean it up — that’s 100 percent important. It’s no good when it’s pilau. It’s a health hazard,” Kamoku said.

Zhiqiang Li, an employee at one of the L&L Hawaiian Barbecue locations inside Ala Moana Regional Park, said clean, safe bathrooms are vital for the success of the business.

“If the restrooms are dirty or closed, the customers don’t like to eat here,” he said.

City spokesman Jesse Broder Van Dyke said the installation is patterned after a “successful” pilot at Hans L’Orange park in Waipahu, where motion-activated cameras were installed in 2014.

“If successful, Mayor Caldwell intends to expand to more parks. This is an effort to deter vandalism as part of his ‘Kakou for Our Parks’ program,” said Broder Van Dyke.

Parks and Recreation Director Michele Nekota said the city will take six months to evaluate the effectiveness of the Ala Moana Regional Park security cameras. If they prove successful, Nekota said her department will ask the city in fiscal year 2018-2019 to provide funding to expand the program in phases to Oahu’s 213 other comfort stations.

Nekota said the cameras follow other improvements at Oahu parks.

So far, Nekota said, the program has renovated 41 park bathrooms. It also has overhauled 92 sports courts. It renovated 28 play stations and installed 15 new ones.

“Parks are a top concern,” she said.