Honolulu Bill Would Open Entire City to Restrictive Parking Zones

City Councilmember Carol Fukunaga introduced Bill 52 after a "rock fall mitigation" project eliminated many on-street parking places in her district, creating heavy demand for the remaining spaces. Key to the establishment of the "restrictive parking zone" or RPZ, as it is called in Bill 52 [PDF], is that demand must warrant it. While preferential rates are given to residents, permits can be purchased by visitors as well.

RPZs "could be created when 75 percent or more of the available on-street parking along a ten block stretch is generally occupied, or when 35 percent or more of the vehicles in that area are not owned by residents," writes Andrew Pereira of KITV4. "The city's transportation director could also make the decision to create a RPZ on his own."

(R)esidents would pay a $65 fee every two years to park on a street within six blocks of their home. A guest permit issued in in conjunction with a resident permit would cost $30. Meanwhile, non-residents would pay $25 for 60 days of parking, or anyone could pay one dollar for a single day.

"Although controversial, Fukunaga’s proposal is getting an initial nod of approval from Mayor Kirk Caldwell’s administration," writes Pereira.

"I think it's an important discussion to have with communities,” Mike Formby, the city’s transportation director, told KITV4. “It's a way for us to look at managing a demand for parking that exceeds capacity and we get complaints all the time.

In the "Road Ahead" video of an interview on "Hawaii Now" about current traffic issues, Formby is asked about the new, one-way bike lane—which the video shows to be a cycle track. Surprisingly, he explains that one of the main beneficiaries are pedestrians who had previously complained about cyclists using the sidewalks. [Of course, this is not a surprise to Planetizen readers who may have read about the pedestrian benefit on the King Street protected bike lane].

Hat tip to AASHTO Daily Transportation Update.