Credit where credit is due….
While on our early morning walk back on February 9, we noticed a bunch of new graffiti at the Waialae Beach Park. This was on the side of the bridge where Kahala Avenue crosses the stream. There was more on the footbridge closer to the ocean. We grumbled about it.
Then I remembered Honolulu 311, the smartphone app that lets you report such problems to the city. I don’t think I’ve ever used it before, although I periodically look through the complaints to get a sense of the kinds of issues reported.
So I took the photo with my iPhone and uploaded it, with other requested info, to Honolulu 311. I figured that “someday” it might get a reply.
I have to report the the response came far sooner than I expected.
First, I quickly received a call letting me know that the problem had been referred to Parks and Recreation for follow-up. So far, so good.
And then I don’t think it was much more than a week later that I received another call from the city. This time it was a parks staffer letting me know that the graffiti had been painted out. And three or four days later, another person called with the same message, just to make sure I had gotten the news.
In this case, the system worked well. The city responded promptly and solved the problem.
I want to thank the folks at the Department of Parks and Recreation for their good work on this and for their excellent communication.
I’ve done my share of criticizing the city and the parks department for certain things, so I want to give them all credit for demonstrating that they do get things right.
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Do you think that the quick response was because of Kahala and you are a journalist? I to applaud the response.may it be the standard.
There is also a group, I think it is 808 cleanup, that works with the city and county and on its own to remove graffiti and to clean up beaches.
Let’s say the same spot gets new graffiti tomorrow. Then what?
To his credit: Mayor Caldwell and his team have been doing a lot of positive things. Unfortunately, in government, the only things that really get attention are the negatives.
nice to see at least one department at the city is making customer service a priority!
@ “t”:
If the same spot gets vandalized again, then call the crews to paint it over again. Wash, rinse, and repeat until the vandals either get caught, or they simply get tired of tagging that place over and over. Yes, even taggers get fed up with having to re-do their “masterpiece” after a couple of times, and they’ll eventually move on. To not do anything about about a graffiti tag is to invite more vandalism onto a structure.
Kahala and the Waialae Country Club get their due, especially in election years.
Meanwhile, the bridge over Palolo Stream at Kapiolani Blvd. and Kaimuki Ave. is completely bombed with graffiti and surrounded with reeking trash, and its underside is inhabited by scruffy men who aggressively challenge nonresidents. It’s inconceivable that authorities are not aware of all this, since it’s right next to Kaimuki High School. Somebody’s not doing their job, and hasn’t been for a long, long time. And it’s much worse in plenty of other places.
I have used 311 on multiple occasions for parks and rec problems, sidewalks, overgrown trees and whatnot blocking pedestrians and putting them in harm’s way, semi-fallen trees on public property, and more. My reports to 311 always get a good response.
I do not live in Kahala. The places where I tend to report things range from Iwilei to Waikiki, Liliha to Makiki, mauka to makai
Check out all the good work that 808Cleanups are doing all across the island! These young folks are tackling trash & grafitti on a daily basis, and sharing the excitement with each other on Facebook. They offer buckets, gloves, and a soy-based paint remover for rocks and trees.
I created a request to have large graffiti removed from a traffic signal control box in Aiea on March 8, 2016. On April 15 the request was marked “Closed”. As of today, May 4, the graffiti remains. The app does not provide an option to follow up on a prior request either.