Question: I noticed rates for metered parking will increase. Are vehicles with handicap placards able to park in metered stalls with no charge?
Answer: Yes. If your vehicle has disability license plates or a disability parking placard displayed, public, on-street metered parking is free for 2-1/2 hours or the meter’s maximum time, whichever is longer, according to Hawaii Administrative rules Title 11, Chapter 219, Section 10.5, which you can read at 808ne.ws/HAR11219.
The city’s doubling of hourly rates for on-street metered parking doesn’t change this.
Please note that at state or county parking lots with an attendant, parking fees do apply to those with disability license plates or placards. The attendant can help you make the payment, if assistance is needed. Free parking at street meters is extended to people with disabilities because they may have trouble navigating the curb to feed the meter, an obstacle that doesn’t exist at staffed parking lots.
Parking meter rates are rising to $1.50 from 75 cents an hour, or to $3 from $1.50 per hour, depending on the neighborhood.
Some readers expressed concern that the fee hike will contribute to misuse of handicap placards as people cheat to avoid paying for parking.
Q: Auwe! This parking increase came out of nowhere. Did they have any hearings on this?
A: Yes, the fee increase went through the standard City Council and mayoral approval process, but nearly two years ago, so you and other readers who submitted similar complaints may have forgotten that it was on the books. You can read the ordinance at 808ne.ws/ord1725. The measure was introduced Feb. 1, 2017, received final Council approval on a 5-4 vote June 7, 2017, and was signed by the mayor June 28, 2017.
Q: They are going to be charging three hours longer for street parking in Waikiki? Thanks a lot!
A: Four more hours a day, actually, plus Sundays. Street parking meters will be enforced in Waikiki from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. seven days a week, according to the city, an expansion of the old 7 a.m.-to-7 p.m. enforcement that took Sundays off. Enforcement hours are expanding only in Waikiki.
Q: Did the fee go up for city parking lots, too?
A: No, the higher rates are only for the city’s on-street parking meters, according to a news release. While most parking meters islandwide are affected, there are a few exceptions, including at the Honolulu Zoo and Kapiolani Park, where meters will remain at current rates, according to the city.
E kala mai
My apologies to anyone I may have offended. I will ask before placing items in any bin other than my own. I like to clean up the neighborhood as I walk, so I pick up litter along the way. I will carry a bag rather than putting it in the nearest bin, as I have in the past. — Morning walker
Auwe
Upon leaving a restaurant after dinner, driving up Kaimuki Avenue, I was disgusted to see homeless tents lining the sidewalk adjacent to Crane Community Park. The tents were right up to the curb, where the passenger of a vehicle would be unable to open their vehicle’s right side doors. There is a need for common-sense enforcement of existing laws. — P.T.
Mahalo
On Jan. 29, after returning home from golf at Royal Kunia golf course, I realized I lost my driver’s license and a credit card somewhere on the course. A most sincere mahalo to the local resident who turned them in to the pro shop. You made my day and proved once again how fortunate we are to have honest people all around us. — Grateful golfer
Write to Kokua Line at Honolulu Star-Advertiser, 7 Waterfront Plaza, Suite 210, 500 Ala Moana Blvd., Honolulu 96813; call 529-4773; fax 529-4750; or email kokualine@staradvertiser.com.
