Question: What can we do to get our trash picked up? We live on Humuula Place, a narrow cul-de-sac, with five other families. One family stores an oversize vehicle on the street and refuses to move it. The garbage truck dispatcher has apparently told the trash collectors assigned to our street not to come up it at all, even to pick up trash below the offending car. Previously, the drivers have come up the street and backed down it. We have not had a pickup in nearly six weeks.
Answer: The regular collection schedule on this Kailua street is expected to resume today, after residents met with their Honolulu City Council representative and staff from the Department of Environmental Services earlier this week, said Markus Owens, an ENV spokesman.
“The residents agreed not to park their vehicles in the turnaround area of this dead-end street on designated trash collection days, allowing our trucks to safely maneuver in and out of the street without reversing. Our staff will continue to monitor this situation to ensure safe trash collection,” he said Thursday.
You were aware of one meeting but thought that all residents except the owner of the offending vehicle had agreed. However, Owens said a subsequent conversation involved a resident who had not initially agreed and that everyone now appears to be on the same page. Owens emphasized that the garbage truck would not back out of the street.
“Our guy has to be able to drive in and out of there safely,” he said, adding that residents agreed the turnaround area would be clear during pickup hours Tuesdays and Fridays, your street’s usual collection days.
Owens said Humuula Place is a private street. Some residents thought it was turned over to the city decades ago, and are seeking clarification of its status, you said.
As Kokua Line has reported numerous times over the years, it is illegal to park in the turnaround area of any dead-end street, per the Revised Ordinances of Honolulu Sec. 15-14.1(a)(27). Emergency vehicles such as ambulances and firetrucks, as well as other large vehicles such as garbage trucks and delivery trucks, need the space to maneuver. No sign is necessary to enforce this prohibition, which the municipal Traffic Code says applies not only to public roads, but also to private roads open to public use. Read details in the ROH, at honolulu.gov/ocs/roh.html.
We asked the Honolulu Police Department about the situation on Humuula Place but did not hear back by deadline. We also tried to reach the owner of the vehicle you mentioned, but the phone rang unanswered, with no voicemail picking up.
Over the past few weeks, residents of your street have hauled garbage to the dump or dragged their garbage, recycling or green-waste bins to a nearby street for pickup.
Although this is an unusual case, with garbage pickup disrupted for so long, Kokua Line receives frequent complaints from readers who say their neighbors’ vehicles, boats, storage pods, commercial equipment or other property stored on the street makes it difficult for delivery vans, garbage trucks and even mail carriers to do their jobs — not to mention lifesaving emergency vehicles.
Q: How far in advance can you schedule a road test?
A: Six months, in Honolulu County. To make an appointment, go to www12.honolulu.gov/csdarts and follow the links.
Mahalo
Mahalo to Dr. Bennett Gum and to two young ladies in a white pickup truck who came to my assistance Dec. 19. I had fallen flat on my back at the curb on 7th Avenue in Kaimuki. It seemed that within seconds the three of them had picked me up and gotten me to my feet. I am 90 years old with an illness that affects my balance, and also a knee replacement surgery that requires me to get assistance to stand up after a fall. I convey my heartfelt gratitude to all three of them and wish them special blessings. — Albert
Write to Kokua Line at Honolulu Star-Advertiser, 500 Ala Moana Blvd., Suite 7-500, Honolulu, HI 96813; call 808-529-4773; or email kokualine@staradvertiser.com.
