On one of our recent morning walks, we arrived at the little park on the other end of Kaaawa and immediately noticed the picnic table’s legs had been broken off. You can see it in the top photo. Groan. Park vandals at work. At least that was our presumption.
Then a day or two later, I checked out one of the other tables and realized it hadn’t been vandals at all. It was simply the city’s failure to maintain and replace park equipment as needed. These tables are so far past their normal life that the metal legs are simply rusting out. They are rapidly disintegrating, and could snap off at any moment, as you can maybe see in the middle photo. The rusted legs are potentially dangerous, creating liability for the city as well as a degraded experience for park users.
Then some other park users did a temporary repair of their own and substituted concrete blocks for the broken legs.
Has the city budgeted for replacement of these tables that are heavily used by park-goers? What’s their schedule for replacing this kind of equipment? Whose job is it to track and plan for such things? Why isn’t that job being done?
I’m sure this little park in Kaaawa is not alone in being neglected by the city. It’s a sad comment on the management of public resources.
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Sad to report I have noticed this often at parks in far-flung areas of Oahu like Kaaawa, Waianae, and Ewa.
A regular reader submitted this comment via email:
The first person to ask is your Councilmember – Ernie Martin. The second person would be Joey Manahan who chairs the Parks Committee. The third person to ask would be Toni Robinson who is the Director of Parks & Recreation.
If you are not satisfied with their responses, call Nick Grube at Civil Beat since he covers all kinds of City and County stories.
Bring up the issue at the Ko`olauloa Neighborhood Board meeting – second Thursdays – although I think that it is “on break” in July. You can get the update by calling 768-3710.
Finally, would you like support from the NGO I head? If so, please call me.
A building at Manoa park has been leaking for so long that the folks who teach classes there (without pay) hardly notice the water on the floor any more. They just put down more newspaper to sop up the water. Everyone knows about this, but complaining has gotten no responses. So sad.
…and we’re going to build and operate a $6 billion train system? I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again:
Hawaii doesn’t “do” infrastructure maintenance.
Little known (and totally unreported) fact about the Hannemann administration. Mufi made his staff and directors actually clean beach parks themselves. We did several, and as Deputy Director of IT, I painted quite a few picnic tables. For those of you who think I’m spinning revisionist history…I have the photos.
Mufi Hannemann made city Directors clean beach parks?
trust me.
we believe you.
I think you’re trying to evade the point…leading by example is not a bad thing.
responding to you, Keith Rollman, means i am evading the point?
by saying “trust me. we believe you,” i am evading the point??????? lol
please explain this one, Keith. and try to maintain some sense of humor about Hannemann. if possible. Happy 4th of July.
My bad. I sensed sarcasm when, apparently, none was intended. A Happy Fourth to you as well.
Well these photos and the homeless tents that I found lining the streets in town this morning, speak volumes for Oahu’s. priorities.
Aside from maintenance, steel legs on a picnic table at a beach park where they are hit with salt spray 24/7? What city genius thought that one up? The wood tables are better but soon they start to rot or someone breaks them up for firewood. You would think that the concrete tables in some parks should be indestructible. Not so. The salt leaches into the concrete causing the rebar to rust. It expands when it rusts and spalls off big chunks eventually destroying the table/benches. The only thing that seems to stand up to the elements are those tables made of recycled plastic “wood”. That is until some moron decides to fire up his hibachi on top of the table and melts it.