Ala Moana Center takes steps to avoid parking cataclysm

It’s the nightmare before Christmas at Ala Moana Center, where this year’s busiest shopping season is colliding head-on with the mall’s largest redevelopment project.

In the best of times, Ala Moana can be a zoo in December. That’s when it becomes a challenge to find parking even at the far reaches of the lots at the world’s largest open-air mall.

Add to that Ala Moana’s $572 million expansion project on the Ewa end of the mall, and you are looking at major parking paralysis.

The mall’s usual 10,000 parking stalls were reduced to 8,000 in July when construction began on the two-year project.

"I think it’s going to be crazier, a lot crazier, because of the renovation that’s going on down there," said 20-year-old Ewa Beach resident Tiani Deuz, who was at the center Thursday with her boy­friend, Bobby Valera, and 3-year-old daughter, Tambry Valera Deuz.

"It gets frustrating because there’s so many cars and so little parking space, so I think it’s going to be really an inconvenience for a lot of people. We’ll probably come about an hour earlier or two hours earlier just to find parking this year."

On Wednesday, mall operators plan to restore 1,300 parking stalls to mitigate congestion — and frustration — as consumers jockey for good parking spaces.

The center also is designating 450 stalls for employee parking on the weekends at the Ala Moana Pacific Center, a neighboring office building, and will give free bus passes to the first 300 workers who agree not to park at the mall in December. The mall also is offering $5 valet parking beneath Morton’s the Steakhouse.

"What we are hoping is that our customers will see that we’re making every effort possible to accommodate for their visit," said Scott Creel, Ala Moana’s senior marketing manager. "There’s a lot of different moving parts, but we’re hopeful that we’ll all share in the positive sides of what will come from this. Construction in this particular case, we think, is a good thing, and it will be positive for the state, our residents and customers. We greatly appreciate our customers’ patience."

The closure of two levels of parking adjacent to the now-vacant Sears department store and a number of detours throughout the center are already causing maddening traffic congestion for many shoppers even before the frenzied holiday season begins.

"Hopefully it will help, but I don’t know. Even with all the parking it’s still crazy," said Kalihi resident Cassandra Mose, 34. "Everybody’s trying to fight for parking. They even get out of their car sometimes and try to fight for their parking."

Ala Moana is demolishing the former Sears store to expand the mall to Pii­koi Street in preparation for Hawaii’s first Bloomingdale’s, other large retailers and smaller stores. The shopping center’s owner, General Growth Properties, also is adding another five levels of parking on the mauka side of the center. The project is expected to be completed in November 2015.

The center, which attracts 42 million visits annually and generates sales in excess of $1,400 per square foot, has barricaded the parking area on the Ewa end of the mall and permanently closed the Pii­koi Street entrance, while at the Kona Street entrance traffic is diverted daily from 6 to 10 a.m. and intermittently through the day.

There will be no construction on Kona Street on Thanksgiving and the following day, mall operators said in a notice to neighboring businesses. On other days, traffic will continue to be diverted from 6 to 10 a.m. and intermittently through the day

In addition, the second and third levels and Wai­manu Street and Kona Iki Street ramps on the Ewa side of the Mauka Ewa Parking structure will be reopened from Thanksgiving through the Christmas holiday season.

"The hardest part (of the holiday shopping season) is parking. Everybody’s at the mall, and they’re at the mall for hours," said Mili­lani resident Remi Ogawa-Lu, 32.

"I mean, it’s not going to deter us, because you know we have to complete our holiday shopping. It’s just frustrating that it’s hard to find parking. Ala Moana’s the biggest, so they have all the good stores. Unfortunately, despite parking and everything, we got to shop."