Walkway access to beach parks restored

Standing in rain jackets beneath the dripping trees of Leahi Beach Park at Diamond Head on a stormy Monday afternoon, Alex Drouin, Charlene Caron and Mark Smith smiled and gesticulated with joy at the removal of the metal fence that had barred access between the park and a waterfront walkway since Christmas Eve.

The fence was removed sometime Monday morning, and the Honolulu residents declared they were the first three to step from the walkway into the park.

“We walk around Diamond Head nearly every day, and this is the highlight of our walk,” said Caron of herself and Smith. The popular pedestrian route through Leahi and Makalei beach parks is linked by the walkway along the sea edge.

The Leahi fence and a matching barrier put up at the makai boundary of Makalei Beach Park were erected by the city Department of Parks and Recreation due to public safety concerns, and after settlement of a lawsuit by a Honolulu resident who claimed she was injured while stepping between Leahi Beach Park and the walkway.

On Jan. 10, after fielding public complaints for 17 days, the parks department removed the fence from the Makalei end of the walkway but left the fence standing on the Leahi side until Monday.

“This was really a whole community effort from beginning to end,” Drouin said, thanking the members of the Diamond Head Neighborhood Board, city officials and the residents who pressed officials to reopen the walkway.

“It restores my faith in our civic system,” Drouin said.

To address safety concerns, warning signs will be posted, city parks Director Michele Nekota said.