Question: Will nighttime closures of Maunalua Bay Beach Park and Joe Lukela Beach Park prevent us from fishing legally at night?
Answer: No. You are one of numerous readers asking whether these new closures will impede night fishing. City and state officials say the answer is no. Here are details, answering those questions and others that readers asked after the city announced Friday that the two East Oahu parks would close nightly from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m., effective immediately.
>> The park closures do not affect the Maunalua Bay boat launch ramp facility, which is overseen by the state, not the city. The state ramp and its parking lot remain open 24/7, Dan Dennison, spokesperson for the state Department of Land and Natural Resources, said Monday in an email. “Anyone can access the ocean waters through the Maunalua Bay Ramp and parking lot,” he said, conveying information from the DLNR’s Division of Boating and Ocean Recreation.
>> Shoreline fishing won’t be impeded either, because people can traverse a closed public park to access other public resources, such as the ocean. “So people can still fish off of these shoreline areas past closure hours. However, people must be actively engaged in fishing,” Nate Serota, spokesperson for Honolulu’s Department of Parks and Recreation, said Monday in an email.
>> “In most cases the boundary between a city beach park and the ocean (DLNR’s jurisdiction) is the high-water mark. One boundary that is important in this case involves the boat ramp (also under DLNR’s jurisdiction). The boat ramp includes the paved area located inside of Maunalua Bay Beach Park. So the grass and dirt areas are part of the city park, the paved area (parking lot and dock) are part of the state boat ramp. Our closure hours do not impact their boat ramp,” Serota said.
>> Joe Lukela Beach Park has a separate parking lot, which is now closed at night.
>> When a city park is closed, its bathrooms are closed as well. “However, not all of our bathrooms are capable of being physically locked. Enforcement of this is really at the discretion of Honolulu Police Department officers. If someone is using an accessible park bathroom for its intended purpose during closure hours, the officer will likely just give them a warning. Staying in a bathroom past closure hours or vandalizing it will result in citation or worse,” Serota said.
DPR established the nighttime park closures with input from the Hawaii Kai community and law enforcement officials, the department said Friday in a news release. “The request for regular closure hours for these two city beach parks was formally approved by the area’s Neighborhood Board during their February 2024 meeting. Upon the board’s request, the hours can be reconsidered for modification after a two-year period ending March 2026,” the news release said.
Signs noting the closure hours were installed Friday at the parks, which are along the makai side of Kalanianaole Highway near Keahole Street.
Closure hours at other city parks vary, but are most commonly 10 p.m. to 5 a.m., according to DPR. See the full list at bit.ly/ParkClosureHours.
Proponents say closing public parks at night makes it easier for police to prevent entrenched homeless encampments from taking hold, but detractors say existing laws should suffice for that and that it’s wrong to impose such broad restrictions on people who simply want to visit a park at night, not live there.
Mahalo
On March 10 I had a medical emergency. Mahalo to these people who helped me: Cathy Lynne, Logan, Theta sisters, Honolulu Fire Department, Emergency Medical Services (Summer, Niko, Deo), Straub Medical Center ER team and Anthony. — Grateful senior
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