Volunteers help patch up Waikiki walkways

Crumbling, cracked and lifted sidewalks in Waikiki are a hazard for pedestrians and contribute to Hawaii’s ranking by the National Complete Streets Coalition as No. 1 in the nation for fatalities among pedestrians age 65 and older.

That’s a reason why about 20 volunteers gathered Thursday to patch and repair sidewalks along both sides of Waikiki’s Kuhio Avenue, starting from Liliuokalani Avenue and proceeding to Ohua Avenue.

The initiative was part of the city Department of Facility’s Maintenance volunteer program, Malama o ka ‘Aina, which city community relations specialist Scott Goto said is a public-private partnership program that allows the community to help the city care for the land.

In this case the city provided the supplies, AARP Hawaii provided a Community Challenge Grant and the volunteers spent the morning providing the manpower to address what has become a lingering safety problem for the state’s top tourist district and most densely populated residential neighborhood.

Support for the project and/or volunteers came from the Waikiki Community Center, the Rotary Club of Waikiki, AARP, the Honolulu Sunset Rotary Club, the Men’s Shed, Kapiolani Community College Service and Sustainability Learning, and Age Friendly Honolulu. State Sen. Sharon Moriwaki (D, Waikiki-Ala Moana-­Kakaako-McCully-Moiliili) also assisted.

Goto said the city recognizes the importance of having well-maintained sidewalks in Waikiki but lacks the manpower to address the issue as expediently as some would like.

“It’s hard to find people that want to do this work, so we don’t have enough staff to get to all the projects,” he said. “The Malama o ka ‘Aina program allows the city to partner with groups to get the work done much faster. We want to prevent lawsuits and we want to prevent injuries. If we get more volunteers, we’ll try to address more spots in high-priority areas like Waikiki.”

Ross Sasamura, director of the city Department of Facility Maintenance, said there’s a 43% vacancy rate in the city’s division of road maintenance.

“There has been attrition due to retirements, advancement to other positions within other city agencies, the low unemployment rate statewide and higher wages in blue-collar, private-sector organizations that are contributing to this situation,” Sasamura said.

To find out more about volunteer opportunities, Goto said to call the city Department of Facility Maintenance’s road maintenance division at 768-3606 or email him at sgoto@honolulu.gov.

AARP Hawaii spokesman Craig Gima said the organization supplied the Waikiki grant because it wanted to address pedestrian safety, which is still a critical issue facing Hawaii’s seniors.

“We still have the highest pedestrian fatality rate for people 65 and older per capita, according to the most recent report from the National Complete Streets Coalition,” Gima said. “Way too many kupuna are dying on our streets. Part of that is the state of the sidewalks. Through this grant we wanted to empower people to take care of their communities.”

Nancy Hildwein, a Waikiki senior who recently fell on a sidewalk near the St. Augustine Church by the Sea Parish, said she’s glad Waikiki Community Center and other nonprofits are stepping up to help the city improve pedestrian safety.

Hildwein said the fall caused her to break two cervical vertebrae, miss the first cruise she’d ever booked and spend at least a month in a brace.

“I attribute my fall to the state of the sidewalks and streets in Waikiki, which are deplorable and very, very dangerous,” she said. “This isn’t the first time that people have fallen because of sidewalks and streets in disrepair. I’ve made many complaints. Improvements need to be made. I’m glad that they are trying to do something.”

Caroline Hayashi, Waikiki Community Center president, said Hildwein isn’t alone. Her case and others like it have inspired the center to focus on making Waikiki’s streets and sidewalks safer, Hayashi said.

“Our staff tell us at least weekly that someone fell walking. Once seniors fall it’s often a very significant event in terms of their declining mobility and health,” Hayashi said. “But the walkability of our neighborhoods is important in general, especially in Waikiki, where we rely so much on the visitor community.”

Merle O’Neill, Waikiki Community Center program director, said Thursday’s effort stemmed from an April audit organized by the center and the Waikiki Safe Walk consortium. About 70 volunteers, including Moriwaki, identified problems with walking conditions ranging from cracks and crumbling sidewalks to faded crosswalk markings to traffic signals that were too short, O’Neill said. They also observed that there was too much illegal skateboard, bicycle and Segway traffic on sidewalks, she said.

“The sidewalk area that we patched on Thursday was one of the worst, but we found many areas that needed improvements,” she said.

O’Neill said Thursday’s repairs followed an August pedestrian safety and awareness event. During the first quarter of 2020, O’Neill said, the center also plans to help prevent more Waikiki falls by organizing another volunteer effort to fill uneven surfaces in the metal tree boxes that line the sidewalks.

Moriwaki said she’ll push for additional public-private partnerships and will work with the Waikiki Community Center to write a resolution to present to the Waikiki Neighborhood Board in January calling for the city to make broad Waikiki sidewalk, road and traffic improvements.

“Volunteers have identified numerous areas that need to be repaired, and we need to move forward,” Moriwaki said. “I like involving more people than just government — they are always short-handed or short-funded or take too long. I think it’s got to be a collaborative process.”