Kokua Line: More upgrades at Thomas Square mean most of park is closed again

Question: Thomas Square is all boarded up again. What’s going on? It seems like it had just reopened after they closed it for so long.

Answer: The city has begun what it describes as a third and final phase of recent improvements, which will close most of the Honolulu park for the next eight months. The earlier phases had closed the popular urban green space from about December 2016 to July 2018.

You are among several readers who called or emailed over the weekend, upset that your plans at the roughly 6.5-acre park — which is bounded by Ward Avenue and King, Beretania and Victoria streets — were disrupted.

Some of the park, along King Street near the statue of King Kamehameha III, remains open during the work, but the rest is closed to the public, cordoned off by chain-link fencing with black anti-dust barriers. Construction work began last week, according to the city, and is expected to wrap up in November.

The nearly $4.34 million contract awarded to Kaikor Construction Co. Inc. includes replacing the mechanical system for the park’s large fountain; re-roofing buildings; restoring the trellis and rock columns; making the comfort station accessible to the disabled; building a new maintenance structure; installing LED lighting around the fountain and along Victoria Street; putting in diagonal walkways from the park’s center to the Beretania Street corners; and rebuilding concrete accessibility ramps at Young Street, according to the city.

This brings to nearly $7 million the cost of all the work since 2016, according to the city. Phase 1, with a contract of about $1.2 million, focused on the park’s vegetation and included removing mock orange hedge and unhealthy banyan trees, replanting the lawn and installing a new irrigation system. Phase 2, costing about $1.5 million, included installing the King Kamehameha III statue and illuminated flagpole flying the Hawaiian flag; building a low wall with explanatory plaques; constructing a paved central plaza with walkways to King Street; pruning trees and adjusting the new irrigation system.

The full park had reopened in July 2018 after Phase 2 ended.

Auwe

I visited the satellite city hall in Pearlridge and was surprised to see no hand sanitizer dispensers. This is a public facility, with lots of people in close contact, with lots of touching of surfaces touched by others. If the city and the state are serious about containing any coronavirus and the flu, I would recommend that hand sanitizers be readily available. Hopefully, the office clerks are taking precautions as they touch the papers of others all day long, and can easily transfer viruses to the next customer they service. Any public facility needs to have hand sanitizer dispensers available. — Dodging the Virus

(We followed up with the city, which said it is trying to acquire enough hand- sanitizer stands and sanitizing gel to equip all satellite city halls on Oahu. These products are in high demand by businesses and institutions across the state. Sheri Kajiwara, director of the city Department of Customer Services, which oversees the satellite city halls, said she hopes to have an update soon. In the meantime, she said, concerned satellite city hall customers should carry their own hand sanitizer.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends frequent hand washing with soap and water to deter the spread of the novel coronavirus COVID-19. When that is not possible, it recommends using a hand sanitizer with at least 60% alcohol. The CDC doesn’t recommend alcohol-free hand sanitizer against COVID-19.)

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.