As night falls, more Oahu parks are now on lock down
Some worry that will have negative impacts.
HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) - Starting Friday night, the city began locking up more Oahu parks during closing hours.
Leaders say it’s an effort to reduce vandalism, but it also means homeless campers will need to find somewhere else to use the restroom overnight.
Some community members are worried that could lead to a mess for park users.
The city recently decided to close down restrooms and parking lots in 18 more city parks around Windward Oahu and the North Shore. They say it’s to protect facilities.
“What happens between 9 and 6 in the morning, or 8 to 6, when people need to use it? They’re gonna be looking for the closest bush or tree. You know what I mean," Andrew Jamila of the Waimanalo Neighborhood Board said.
Some of the additional parks now in the lockup include Kaneohe, Hauula, Waialua, Haleiwa and Waimanalo Beach Park, with a homeless encampment just outside the park boundary.
“Locking them out of a bathroom or putting a gate up in this parking lot, that might potentially cause more ticketing occurring to this community of people who are already at a setback,” Kukana Kama-Toth, neighborhood board committee co-chair said.
The city is spending roughly $200,000 for the additional security at parks, paying American Guard Services to secure the 59 park locations around the island.
The initiative began in April after a rash of vandalism left smashed sinks and toilets, and other damage that cost thousands of dollars and often took weeks to fix.
The locks may prevent damage, however the American Civil Liberties Union says Hawaii should work to find better solutions to homelessness, and let police focus on actual crime.
“I’m not trying to say that some houseless and homeless people don’t litter. I’m sure they do. But we shouldn’t put them all into that group.”
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