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Honolulu Mayor Kirk Caldwell on Monday signed a bill dedicating up to 80 on-street and 80 off-street parking stalls for lease to car-share companies.
Bill 19, co-introduced by Council members Brandon Elefante and Joey Manahan, won 7-2 approval at the City Council earlier this month.
Caldwell hailed the new ordinance as a step toward building resilience in Honolulu.
The move puts Honolulu “on a unique path in terms of addressing our challenges on a climate crisis, a warming planet, a true emergency,” the mayor said Monday at a news conference near the downtown post office’s parking lot.
“That means instead of having all these cars parked around here usually driven by one person, we’d be sharing a vehicle with others,” he said. “And I think that type of sharing may result in less traffic and less cars on our streets, particularly in the urban core.”
Eighty metered street parking spaces would be used, and another 80 at municipal garages.
However, Caldwell said that where possible, the city Department of Transportation Services would look for places to dedicate new car-share stalls, instead of using existing metered stalls. Where those new stalls will be, and how many there will be, however, have yet to be determined.
Caldwell said the city DTS would iron out those details during the rule-making process, which typically takes six months to a year, including a public hearing and public comment period. However, he said, creating new stalls over taking up existing stalls would be a high priority.
When Bikeshare Hawaii rolled outs its Biki bikes two years ago with $2 million in state and city startup funds, its docking stations took up dozens of metered parking stalls, which upset drivers who had been using those stalls.
While Bikeshare Hawaii does not pay for the use of their stalls, the car-share companies will pay an annual rent of $2,475 per stall in the downtown area, and even more in Waikiki, to reserve the stalls.
Wes Frysztacki, DTS director, said the city has about 4,000 metered stalls which each bring in about $1,000 in annual revenue.
Monthly parking at Harbor Court is $140 per month, so annually, a lease to a car-sharing company would bring in more, at $3,150 a year.
“So we would be receiving more revenue and serving more people through this legislation,” he said.
Elefante said he has long been a proponent of car-share services, which have already taken off in cities like San Francisco and Boston, and that this would give them more flexibility and the opportunity to work with the city.
One car share can take nine to 13 vehicles off the road, he said, reducing carbon emissions and giving Oahu residents another option for transportation. The dedicated stalls would be islandwide on Oahu, he said, and not concentrated in one area.
The dedicated car-share stalls cannot be in a tow zone, and there will be no more than two per block. Each car in a car-share fleet using the dedicated stalls will need a decal costing $20.
In addition, said Caldwell, no less than 30 days before the dedicated car-share stalls are put in place, the community will have the opportunity to provide concerns and input on where they go to the City Council.
PARKING RATES
The following annual rates were set for car-share companies:
>> Downtown/ Civic Center: $2,475
>> Waikiki: $4,380
>> Other areas: $1,350
>> Municipal garages downtown: $3,150
>> Other municipal garages: $2,100
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