New streetlights selected to match ones already up

By June Watanabe

POSTED: 01:30 a.m. HST, Jan 22, 2013

~~Question: Someone needs to be held responsible for the fiasco of the new streetlights lining Ala Moana Boulevard. The design is inappropriate and stylistic of an older era in a Disneyland way. That concept is totally alien for a burgeoning, cutting-edge Honolulu. I’ve been an architect for more than 25 years in Hawaii and know what is available. What was selected is horrendous. The second problem is more disturbing. The lights have been installed in seemingly haphazard locations along the makai sidewalk, townside of Ala Moana Center, that make navigating difficult in some areas and completely inaccessible to handicapped individuals. That is illegal, and a lawsuit is going to happen. The whole project, from design to installation, is a fiasco. Who approved this?
Answer: The state Department of Transportation, which is overseeing the Nimitz Highway and Ala Moana Boulevard Resurfacing and Highway Lighting Replacement Project, says the vintage streetlights simply are an extension of lights put up by the city in the early 2000s.
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Question: Someone needs to be held responsible for the fiasco of the new streetlights lining Ala Moana Boulevard. The design is inappropriate and stylistic of an older era in a Disneyland way. That concept is totally alien for a burgeoning, cutting-edge Honolulu. I’ve been an architect for more than 25 years in Hawaii and know what is available. What was selected is horrendous. The second problem is more disturbing. The lights have been installed in seemingly haphazard locations along the makai sidewalk, townside of Ala Moana Center, that make navigating difficult in some areas and completely inaccessible to handicapped individuals. That is illegal, and a lawsuit is going to happen. The whole project, from design to installation, is a fiasco. Who approved this?

Answer: The state Department of Transportation, which is overseeing the Nimitz Highway and Ala Moana Boulevard Resurfacing and Highway Lighting Replacement Project, says the vintage streetlights simply are an extension of lights put up by the city in the early 2000s. Login for more...