Beachgoer petitions to convert volleyball court into parking lot

A petition to take out an apparently dormant volleyball court in front of the Waikiki War Memorial Natatorium for badly sought public parking for beachgoers does not appear to be swaying the Caldwell administration.

Amy Brown, a University of Hawaii professor and frequent visitor to Kaimana Beach, said Saturday that the area fronting the Diamond Head side of the Natatorium’s facade was a sandy lot with a volleyball court more than a decade ago.

In 2005, both the Diamond Head and Ewa sides fronting the Natatorium were paved and made into parking lots. But shortly thereafter, the Diamond Head lot once again became a volleyball court.

But the area has not been used as a volleyball court and is “sitting empty,” Brown said. She estimates at least 15 stalls could fit on the Diamond Head side, she said.

Brown has started a petition — both online and the old-fashioned way, by hand — to turn it into a parking lot, just like the Ewa side, where there are now about 20 stalls.

A Kaimuki resident, Brown said she can easily bike to the area. “But families are being denied access to a public beach,” she said. “It’s limiting access to the people of Hawaii.”

Brown said she’s received about 180 handwritten petition signatures and about 35 electronic ones.

Deputy Parks Director Jeanne Ishikawa said the area Brown is eyeing is a volleyball court, not a parking lot.

“The volleyball court fits the purpose of Kapiolani Park as a recreation area, as part of the Kapiolani Trust,” Ishikawa said in a written statement. Because it is used on a first-come, first-served basis, she said, “a list is not available as to when it has been used.”

Brown said that she’s never seen the court used in 16 years of going there a minimum of two to three times a week. The people she’s approached to sign the petition say the same thing, she said.

An exception allowing for parking for the area is granted on Memorial Day and Veterans Day as part of ceremonies held at the Natatorium, Ishikawa said. But even then, only three to five cars and two motorcycles driven by war veterans are allowed to park there as they pay their respects, she said.

Ishikawa said there have been discussions about improving the volleyball court and possibly expanding its use. “Those discussions are ongoing,” she said.

Brown said that’s the first she’s heard of it.

The longer-range plans for the Natatorium site remain in the study stage.

Robert Kroning, director of the Department of Design and Construction, said city Natatorium consultant WCP Consulting is developing an alternative option for the landmark in its environmental impact statement at the request of the State Historic Preservation Division. A draft EIS is expected to be done in the summer of 2017. The cost of the contract is $1.3 million.