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.