Bus transit depot parking isn’t for nearby businesses

Question: Please find out who has parking privileges at the bus transit depot, Middle Street location. Finding parking nearby where I work is almost impossible. I was once warned by security my car would be towed away in the future.

Answer: Public parking at the Kalihi Transit Center, 811 Middle St., is for people visiting TheBus Pass Office or catching a bus there to another destination (park-and-ride), said Jon Nouchi, deputy director of the city’s Department of Transportation Services.

Park-and-ride parking is allowed in open stalls that are not marked “reserved,” he said.

Transit center employees also park on-site.

Public parking at the depot at the corner of Middle Street and Kamehameha Highway is not for employees of nearby businesses. Illegally parked vehicles can be reported to on-site security or by calling 911, Nouchi said.

So you do risk towing if you keep parking there and walking to your nearby job.

Q: I don’t live in Honolulu but I spend time here. Will Hawaii police enforce my TRO when I am here? The person it is against also spends time in Hawaii.

A: Yes. Police in all states are required to enforce valid temporary restraining orders issued in any state, per the Full Faith and Credit Provision of the federal Violence Against Women Act, according to the Honolulu Police Department. “If your TRO is violated, the Honolulu Police Department is required to take action,” the department states on its website.

Call 911 immediately if your protective order is violated.

You can read about how HPD handles domestic violence cases at 808ne.ws/honotro.

Q: With all the focus now on older high-rises, what about hotels and office buildings? Do they have sprinklers?

A: Yes. “Nearly all high-rise hotels and high-rise business buildings on Oahu over 75 feet in height have automatic fire sprinkler systems. While older high-rise residential buildings have not been required to retrofit with automatic fire sprinkler systems, Oahu hotels were mandated to do so in 1983, and existing high-rise business buildings in 2003,” said Socrates Bratokos, assistant chief of support services for the Honolulu Fire Department.

The requirements are spelled out in Article 2 of Honolulu’s fire code, which you can read at 808ne.ws/hnlfirecode. The code is Chapter 20 of the Revised Ordinances of Honolulu.

“Prior to 1975, automatic fire sprinkler systems were not required on Oahu for high-rise buildings. In 1975, the City and County of Hono­lulu adopted the national model building code, which included the requirement for sprinkler systems in all newly constructed high-rise residential buildings. However, that did not impact existing buildings such as the Marco Polo,” Bratokos said.

As noted, retrofitting Oahu’s older high-rise hotels and commercial buildings to have automatic fire sprinklers throughout the premises was mandated years ago. It’s now also proposed for residential high-rises, in the aftermath of a fatal fire at the Marco Polo on July 14.

The Honolulu City Council will consider a bill on the matter at Mayor Kirk Caldwell’s request. You can read the bill at 808ne.ws/sprin klerbill. The proposed new language is underscored.

About 300 older residential high-rises on Oahu lack automatic sprinklers, according to the mayor’s office, citing a survey conducted by the Fire Department.

When it comes to new construction on Oahu, all high-rises — whether they be hotels, office buildings, residential towers or for some other use — must be built with automatic fire sprinkler systems.

Write to Kokua Line at Honolulu Star-Advertiser, 7 Waterfront Plaza, Suite 210, 500 Ala Moana Blvd., Honolulu 96813; call 529-4773; fax 529-4750; or email kokualine@staradvertiser.com.