A popular Oahu hiking trail could see money for much-needed repairs

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) - Honolulu Mayor Kirk Caldwell wants to set aside $1 million for work on the Koko Crater Trail. A local group that has been pushing the city to make improvements says the action is long overdue.

"The erosion is just unbelievable. It's just deteriorated beyond belief to me," said Jane Howard of the Kokonut Koalition.

Howard and other Koko Head enthusiasts have attempted in the past to make their own improvements to the Koko Crater Trail. The World War Two era tramway tracks that draw in so many locals and visitors.

"We like to think of the city's involvement as being sort of benign neglect. Benign in the sense that they allow us to hike on the trail, they haven't outlawed it, they haven't closed it, but neglectful in the sense that they haven't done any repairs or anything to improve it," said Kokonut Koalition Vice President Drew Murphy.

The proposal to allocate that money will go before the city council’s budget committee on April 3rd. If it’s approved, it goes to the full council for a vote. The Kokonut Koalition wants at least $100,000 of that money to go to immediate erosion control and safety repairs.

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