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The city will begin repaving, reconstructing and re-striping the full, 1-mile stretch of Ala Moana Park Drive starting next month. Read more

The city will begin repaving, reconstructing and re-striping the full, 1-mile stretch of Ala Moana Park Drive starting next month.

It’s one of the less contentious components of Mayor Kirk Caldwell’s long-term plan for Ala Moana Regional Park, Oahu’s most popular regional park, but also potentially one of the most disruptive segments, at least for motorists.

A majority of the work is scheduled to take place during nonpeak hours and regular closure hours to minimize the impact to the public while allowing for more continuous and expedited work, city officials said.

Scheduled work hours are 7 p.m. to 5:30 a.m. Monday through Thursday, midnight to 5:30 a.m. Friday and 7 p.m. to midnight Sunday. Additional work may be necessary during daylight hours from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Monday through Friday, city officials said.

The $1.04 million project will include tree pruning, new speed bumps and vehicle loop sensors near the Ala Moana Boulevard entrances that will sync with streetlights on Ala Moana Boulevard. Also planned are improvements to the parking lot by the canoe hale, which will be used during construction as a staging ground for contractor Maui Kupono Builder LLC.

The project is expected to be completed in October, Caldwell said Saturday during a press conference.

“It’s full of potholes, it’s very rough and hasn’t been paved in decades,” the mayor said.

The Ala Moana Park Drive work to be done in the coming months does not include the reorientation of parking stalls along the mauka (northern) side of the thoroughfare. Several community groups, including Malama Moana and Save Ala Moana Beach Park Hui, have opposed a plan to reconfigure the now parallel stalls on the mauka side into perpendicular-facing ones.

A city spokesman said no decision has been made on whether to proceed with the reconfiguration at some later date. City parks spokesman Nathan Serota said a decision likely will be made after a final environmental impact statement is issued for the Ala Moana plan.

Representatives from the organizations said they still oppose perpendicular stalls but support redoing Ala Moana Park Drive.

“The road has needed to be resurfaced for a long time,” said park regular Sharlene Chun-Lum, a member of Save Ala Moana Beach Park Hui. “So long as there isn’t the additional perpendicular parking, we’re good with it.”

But the opponents of Caldwell’s Ala Moana plans are not so good with other parts of it, including the placing of what’s being dubbed “an inclusive playground” being put up with the help of private funding. The facility, which will be open for free to the public but locked at night when the rest of the park is closed, is slated for an acre just mauka of the current L&L Hawaiian Barbecue concession on the Diamond Head side of the park.

Opponents would prefer the playground be placed in a less utilized space such as Kakaako.

The nonprofit Pa‘ani Kakou, which is raising funds for the playground, said the plan include swings, slides, a splash pad and miniature zip lines but no water slides or pools.

Caldwell on Saturday made it a point to repeat his support for the playground, which will have concessions intended to raise funds to help with operations and maintenance.

“It does not occupy a large portion of the land, and it’s in a place that’s not used most of the time,” Caldwell said. “Parks and playgrounds go hand in hand. In this large park there is no playground.”

The proposed playground would be friendly to children with physical challenges, he said. “It allows them to have a chance to enjoy life and the great outdoors.”

“People ask what’s appropriate and not appropriate at this park,” Caldwell said, pointing out that accommodations were made for McCoy Pavilion, lawn bowling, a lifeguard center, two concession stands, security cameras, jogging paths and volleyball courts.

Diane Fujimura, another member of Save Ala Moana Beach Park Hui, said the inclusive park does not have widespread public support.

“While still within the EIS process, Caldwell continues to bulldoze forward his vision of the future of Ala Moana Beach Park, with no real input from the people, who have, quite loudly and consistently, voiced their opposition to his ‘world-class children’s playground,’” Fujimura said.

Audrey Lee of Malama Moana said the playground plan was unveiled late in the process. “It is not the playground we are upset with as much as the way it was and is being handled.”