There’s always a fine line to walk, deciding when the public would be best served by shutting down public parks.

Rarely, one might think. But in the case of Kakaako Makai Gateway Park, the proposal to do so seems well founded.

Hawaii Community Development Authority board Vice President Steve Scott is one who sees the need to shut down the park for some weeks, as a means of discouraging homeless camps from reappearing after each sweep.

Besides taking the time to clean the park, it’s necessary to “break this cycle,” as Scott said, so that campers are compelled to move on — ideally, to a shelter or program that can help with housing solutions.

Ride-hailing gets Council reprieve

It appears the City Council is not bent on passing regulations for ride-hailing businesses to align them with taxicab practices, and that’s good news.

Council Budget Chairwoman Ann Kobayashi has decided to defer Bill 85 (2015), which would have required drivers for Uber, Lyft and other services to obtain cabbie permits and fulfill the same requirements put on the taxi industry.

Kobayashi said a middle ground can be found. Some precautions do make sense, but it also makes sense that the drivers not be treated the same because the business model and its enabling technology are different. Ride-hailing is an innovation that should be allowed to succeed on its own terms.

Let’s see if a compromise that supports that goal can emerge.