City shuts 24-hour restroom facilities in Waikiki

The city said it will no longer keep any public restrooms in Waikiki open around the clock, fueling debate over how the city’s park closure law affects tourists and residents in the state’s top destination.

The Department of Parks and Recreation began locking all of the city’s Waikiki public toilets during overnight hours on Friday, Parks Director Gary Cabato said in an email. The city removed signs about its 24-hour restrooms at Kapiolani Park and Kuhio Beach by Monday, Cabato said.

The city’s park closure law says people cannot be in city parks after hours, typically 10 p.m. to 5 a.m., though exact hours vary. It was to address complaints about noise, illegal activity and homelessness.

But critics say the 1990 law has done little to reduce homelessness, has added to the burden of the courts, and resulted in stiff penalties for residents directed by city signage to after-hours bathrooms in closed parks.

Cabato did not respond to an email asking for closing times for each Waikiki park bathroom.

A Star-Advertiser story on Tuesday detailed conflicts between the park closure law and city signage that said some public restrooms were open 24 hours a day.

Proponents of the new policy say closing Waikiki bathroom hours during overnight hours will fix the city’s issue with conflicting signage, keep park crime and homelessness in check and help city workers better maintain the bathrooms. Others say the change unfairly targets homeless people and will greatly inconvenience residents and tourists in the heavily trafficked area.

City Councilman Tom Berg, chairman of the Council’s Parks and Cultural Affairs Committee, said he will take comment on the issue at his committee’s next meeting, Nov. 27 at 10:30 a.m. at Hono­lulu Hale.

Cabato said the Parks Department is considering reopening one bathroom as a 24-hour bathroom.

Cheryl and Thomas Gunn, visitors from Connecticut, said closing all bathrooms nightly would inconvenience tourists, many of whom are still adjusting to Hawaii time.

"We’re six hours different so we’ve been getting up early," Cheryl Gunn said. "We look forward to coming out here to enjoy the beach. If I had to walk all the way back to my hotel, it would be a big inconvenience. Should they do this? No, no."

Mary Ann Racin, president and creator of the popular website The Bathroom Diaries, said non-law-abiding people will still frequent the area even if the bathrooms are closed. "It’s silly to think they will leave the area because the toilets are no longer there," she said.

"People will be going in the bushes and the water," said Tyrone Hussey, who was sitting with some of Waikiki’s homeless residents at the pavilion on Tuesday. "Who wants to see all that nasty stuff?"

Waikiki Neighborhood Board member Jeff Merz said the city should consider keeping the public bathroom next to the Waikiki police substation open 24 hours a day and exempting that part of the beach park from the portion that shuts down from 2 to 5 a.m.

"I don’t think we should keep the Kapiolani Park tennis park bathroom open 24 hours. … However, opening the Waikiki substation bathroom seems like a no-brainer," Merz said.