Bureaucratic snags continue to stall attempts to reach a long-term solution to the city’s Haiku Stairs dilemma.
On one side are hiking groups and environmental interests who want to see the long-stalled hiking path reopened so hikers can once again see the panoramic views at the top of the 2,800-foot path. On the other are Haiku residents who in recent years have seen their properties trashed and trespassed on by hikers visiting the stairs illegally at night to avoid detection by a security guard.
An ad hoc committee of Honolulu City Council members, led by Council Parks Chairman Joey Manahan, agreed to the requests of the nonprofit group Friends of Ha‘iku Stairs to look into the possibility of reopening the popular trail once nicknamed the "Stairway to Heaven."
But Manahan, in a report to the Council last week, said neither he nor his colleagues will be able to determine whether the stairs can be reopened until they can physically inspect the trail.
When Manahan and three other Council members began organizing an August field trip to survey the trail and surrounding area, the Honolulu Board of Water Supply, which maintains ownership of the trail, required that they be escorted by trail experts from the Friends group.
City Water Manager Ernest Lau, who heads the board, said that’s because his staff is not familiar with the stairs.
The board also wanted Friends of Ha‘iku Stairs to carry a minimum $1 million liability insurance policy before its members could go on the field trip. Lau said the agency requires such insurance whenever anyone tries to access board property.
The Friends group, however, had let its policy lapse years ago.
Vernon Ansdell, Friends president, said his organization is now obtaining a new policy. The group, which used to pay $1,100 to $1,200 a year, has some funds available and is willing to pay for the policy "if that’s what it costs us to achieve our goals."
Meanwhile, Manahan’s committee recommended that the stairs be closed "until sound and reasonable recommendations are obtained after a full observation and inspection."
While they have yet to ascend the stairs, Manahan and his committee toured the area below them, including several access points to the trail.
Manahan said the tour made it clear that accessibility and liability are the key obstacles in the way of a reopening.
Most parties who want the site reopened believe the best entry point would be at the former U.S. Coast Guard Omega Station, now under the jurisdiction of the state Department of Hawaiian Home Lands. Most hikers have parked at the station parking lot and walked to the stairs, away from neighbors. DHHL now has a locked gate there.
The stairs first took shape as part of the Omega transmission station. Both were built by the Navy in 1943 to reach the cable facilities above the valley. In 1955 wooden stairs were replaced with galvanized metal stairs.
In 1987 the stairs were closed due to disrepair, and they have not reopened since then.
The city, under the leadership of former Mayor Jeremy Harris and then-Windward Councilman Steve Holmes, took ownership of the stairs from the military in the early 2000s, and the city spent $875,000 to repair them. Ensuing jurisdictional entanglements and opposition from area residents have kept the stairs closed.
Windward area civic leader Mahealani Cypher said the Ko‘olau Foundation, of which she is a member, wants to establish a cultural preserve around the floor of Haiku Valley, including the Omega station. Cypher said she thinks there could be mutual benefit if both could use the Omega station facility.
Ansdell of Friends agreed. "We can have a wonderful relationship with them," he said.
To get to the Omega station, however, requires moving through Kamehameha Schools property. And once beyond the Omega station, hikers still need to travel through property owned by the state Department of Transportation and the Board of Water Supply in order to access the trail. The top of the stairs is under the jurisdiction of DHHL.
"The city is not the only piece of the puzzle," Manahan said. "Until we can get agreement from all the entities … it’s going to be very difficult to move forward on anything."
Manahan said he and his colleagues will continue to talk to the various stakeholders.
Ansdell is among those who believe many of the neighbors’ concerns could be addressed if the Omega station were opened up to the hikers, reducing the need for them to park in front of houses and trespass onto residential properties to reach the stairs.
Opening up the stairs would also cut down on the number of nighttime hikers since many are going after dark now simply to avoid being shooed away by a security guard posted at the bottom of the stairs during daylight hours.
"If we could open the stairs, that would solve (the neighbors’) problem, and it would solve our problem," Ansdell said.
