Kokua Line: Tow-away zones persisted during hurricane warning

Question: On Thursday and Friday of the week Hurricane Lane was supposed to hit, the government told us all to shelter in place.

We had a car parked on Beretania Street on Wednesday night. Usually, Beretania is a tow-away zone from 6:30 to 8:30 a.m. for morning traffic. Numerous cars park on that strip of Beretania. I called the hurricane hotline and asked if we still needed to move the car. I was told we had to move it for the two hours. I was also told that metered parking was still in effect, even though the people who monitor the meters were not working for those two days. We moved our car and drove around for two hours, even though the government was also saying to stay off the street if you could. Many others did not move their car because I’m sure they thought the same as I had, that the tow-away wouldn’t be in effect if they told us to shelter in place.

I asked, “If the hurricane is hitting, and it happens to hit during the tow-away hours, do we still need to move our car during the hurricane?” I was told we still needed to leave the shelter of our house and move our car no matter what strength the hurricane was or the car would be towed.

I heard that cars parked on the Ala Wai got ticketed and towed because Friday is a tow-away zone there as well. I also know that (people who live in apartments near Kapiolani Park) park at the metered parking. They would have to leave their apartments in the middle of a hurricane to feed their meter.

The message I am getting from the state/city is, “Stay safe, unless you parked in a two-hour tow-away zone or didn’t feed your meter.”

My question is, Why? If the government is telling us to shelter in place, they have told people to stay off the streets and a natural disaster is occurring. Why do we need to move our car for two hours? Especially when the tow-away zone is only for morning traffic, which was nonexistent.

It seems ridiculous to me but maybe they have a reason, and I would like to know what that is. On the mainland, during severe snowstorms, they actually open up parking garages for free to get cars off the street.

Answer: Tow-away zones and metered parking were in effect that Thursday and Friday (Aug. 23-24) during the hurricane warning, confirmed Andrew Pereira, a spokesman for Honolulu Mayor Kirk Caldwell.

Twenty-two cars were towed on Oahu on Aug. 24, most of which were parked along the Ala Wai Canal, said Michelle Yu, a spokeswoman for the Honolulu Police Department.

We’re still trying to find out the total number of parking tickets and tow-aways for that two-day period, when traffic was light, as public and private schools, the university, most government offices and many businesses had closed as a precaution.

Nonemergency city and state employees were granted paid administrative leave those days and advised to stay home. That group included HPD’s parking violations clerks, commonly known as meter readers. Parking enforcement was conducted by HPD patrol officers, essential workers who had reported for work as usual.

“The decision during the approach of Hurricane Lane was to keep the parking enforcement status quo. The intent was to prevent an untenable situation where drivers park their vehicles on major arteries, despite posted restrictions or meters. Keeping roads clear for emergency responders before, during, and after a storm is critical to the city’s response,” said Pereira.

The decision was made by the municipal government’s executive branch, he said, which is headed by the mayor.

We also asked whether the city would review the policy, given that hurricane season lasts through November, but did not receive a response.

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.