Thomas Square can be improved

Like any growing urban center, Honolulu needs its parks — public green clearings breaking up the high-rise forest.

The “public” part of that could be improved at Thomas Square, a well-located but underused element in the city parks system. And it can be, within boundaries that don’t preclude the “green” part of the equation.

Mayor Kirk Caldwell wants to increase the activity in the 6.5-acre square, which faces the city’s Neal Blaisdell Center (NBC). He proposes that the Department of Enterprise Services, which runs the NBC, take charge of the square, and from a logistics and efficiency standpoint, this makes sense.

And that’s why on Friday he rightly vetoed Bill 23, a measure passed by the City Council that seeks to restrict Enterprise Services from oversight of Thomas Square, among other properties currently under the Department of Parks and Recreation.

The fact that numerous residents spoke out in support of the measure spotlights concerns that the mayor places too heavy an emphasis on monetizing the parks. Perhaps, given Caldwell’s ideas about expanding private leasing or concession opportunities at Ala Moana Park, some of that worry is well founded.

But the bill offers no solution.

Some residents, represented on the City Council by Ann Kobayashi, have their doubts that Enterprise Services can deliver, given its history managing the troubled Honolulu Zoo. However, neither can the Parks Department boast of a brilliant record of property upkeep, either; the evidence is in the appearance of the square itself.

Thomas Square had become run down and a camping ground for the homeless. The proximity of Enterprise Services staff at the NBC would make maintenance of the square, now undergoing $1.18 million in landscaping renovations, much more practical.

What will ensure a better outcome is a clearer blueprint for the square with specific protections. Bill 23 accomplishes only preservation of the status quo — not the best management strategy.

Rather than gather six votes to override Caldwell’s veto, the Council should work with the administration to keep Thomas Square to a limited but varied schedule of activities. Rulemaking could ensure that the administration comes through on its pledge to prohibit events that charge entry fees or otherwise restrict public access to the square. And, of course, public input would be sought.

Even with such restrictions, there’s still a lot of room for public activities that comport well with the concert hall on the makai side and the art museum on the mauka end.

There are already craft fairs and plant sales, but in addition to the vendors, there could be a menu of free music concerts, outdoor art exhibits and cultural activities. Those also would fit well in a park that occupies a important place in Hawaiian history. This is the place where British Rear Adm. Richard Thomas read a declaration restoring sovereignty to the Hawaiian Kingdom on July 31, 1843.

Caldwell also last week vetoed Bill 20, which would have expanded the city’s controversial “sit-lie” prohibition against occupying specified public sidewalks. The mayor noted that the ban area would encompass residential Makahiki Way, which could draw down a legal challenge.

That’s correct: The existing sit-lie ordinance plainly asserts that the intent of the ban is to keep passageways clear for the conduct of business in commercial areas. That argument can’t be made in a non-business zone.

The mayor has signaled that he would sign a sit-lie expansion that includes only business areas. The Council should take this opening and revise Bill 20 to clear the encampments.

Members have the same chance to collaborate with the administration on a solution that would invigorate Thomas Square without overwhelming it. They should take that opening, too.