Department of Parks and Recreation issued the following announcement on Nov. 24.
The ‘Āina Moana (Magic Island) Parking Lot was reopened to vehicular traffic today following the completion of a majority of the reconstruction project.
The 470-stall parking lot was completely repaved and restriped, with the installation of new gates, benches, and a drop-off zone. Additional improvements were made to the tree planting spaces, irrigation, and curbing, with a one-for-one replacement of unhealthy trees accompanying the planting of new trees. These efforts were made to help these Monkeypod, Geometry, and Hau trees to thrive and provide a sufficient canopy to cool the area beneath them.
“Throughout our administration we have given much needed care to Ala Moana, the People’s Park, after it had been neglected for decades” said Mayor Kirk Caldwell. “Now the most popular park in the State can continue to serve our island, and help create many more memories for our local families with improvements to the: roadway, parking, irrigation, beach, bathrooms, showers, exercise equipment, pathways, tree inventory, McCoy Pavilion, staffing, and security. All of this while making this location the first City park to convert completely to LED lights and house the first dedicated sand volleyball courts.”
With the addition of dozens of recent tree plantings at ‘Āina Moana, over 300 trees have been planted in Ala Moana Regional Park over the last four years. This includes a wide variety of species ranging from Loulu palms to Lonomea, Beach Heliotrope to Shower trees.
While the public may now begin using the highly demanded parking stalls at ‘Āina Moana, there remains additional work to be conducted by the project’s contractor, Road Builders Corporation, such as landscaping maintenance and restoration.
“With the tumultuous nature of this year, it will be nice to get back to some level of normalcy by reopening roughly half of the parking spots at our most popular park,” said Honolulu Department of Parks and Recreation Director Michele Nekota. “We appreciate the patience of the park users while these parking spots received a much-needed makeover. There is still some work to be done, so we appreciate your understanding as the project continues.”
Currently, a $1.96 million shoreline improvement project is underway along the Hawaiian Pond near the Atkinson Drive entrance to the park.
To see the past projects conducted at the park, and view park planning documents from the previous public hearings, please visit Ala Moana Regional Park’s dedicated webpage at bit.ly/AlaMoanaPark.
If you need an auxiliary aid/service, other accommodations due to a disability, or an interpreter for a language other than English in reference to this announcement, please call DPR at (808) 768-3003 on weekdays from 7:45 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. or email parks@honolulu.gov
Original source can be found here.
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