Octogenarian wants mayor to leave beach park alone

Myrna Ariola, 81, is a good reason why Honolulu Mayor Kirk Caldwell had best tread lightly with his revitalization of Ala Moana Beach Park.

Ariola, whose age is coincidentally the same as Oahu’s most heavily used park, gives Caldwell a stern scolding in a YouTube video called "Myrna’s Message to the Mayor."

Her simple message: Local people like Ala Moana just as it is and don’t want it messed with.

She scorns Caldwell’s $1.2 million contract with a New York consultant to recommend improvements for the park.

"Mr. Mayor, I think you should leave the park alone," she admonishes. "Have more workers. Maintain what we have, not put in more stuff and spending money on consultants. Consultants don’t even live here. We do."

It seems to resonate in the community, with more than 3,500 views in two weeks on a YouTube channel associated with TV newsman Dick Allgire (youtu.be/89aqZ66QIL8).

Similar views were sounded by many of the 350 people who attended a March 10 briefing on Caldwell’s plan at McCoy Pavilion, but Ariola’s words have special weight because she’s made caring for Ala Moana her personal kuleana.

She spends four or five hours at Ala Moana each weekday morning, picking up bagfuls of rubbish left by less considerate park users as she walks, stretches and swims.

"I consider it my beach," she says. "I clean the parking lot, I walk along the sand … I rake leaves."

She says she brings her own trash bags because "sometimes the rubbish cans are overflowing and there’s not enough people working."

"I pick up everything that doesn’t belong on the ground — bottle caps, cigarettes, BM diapers, plastic bags," she says.

Then, glistening with perspiration from her work, she takes her daily swim in waters she declares "absolutely the best."

Caldwell insists he only wants to enhance the park for local users and that projects are already underway to improve restrooms, plant more trees, repair trails and boost security.

But regular users become wary when the mayor talks about possible public-private partnerships, a beachside restaurant and bar, surfboard concessions, volleyball stadiums and a concert venue.

They fear a shift from local recreation and gatherings to commercial activities aimed at buyers of nearby Kakaako condominiums selling for up to $100 million.

A primary worry is that traditionally free parking will disappear, freezing out local regulars who can’t afford parking fees.

"We’re not the mainland," Ariola declares. "We’re local people. We use the park. We’re not going to go to the restaurant. We’re going to bring our own food down here. Ala Moana Park … shouldn’t be changed. It should be maintained."

Ala Moana is a rare oasis between Diamond Head and Kakaako not absorbed by tourism and development interests, and it won’t be given up without a fight.

Reach David Shapiro at volcanicash@gmail.com or blog.volcanicash.net.