Community expresses ideas about fixing Kona’s downtown parking problems

What to do about the skyrocketing cost to park in downtown Kailua-Kona, and the impact it is having on businesses?

About 250 people gave up their Friday night to attend a public meeting at the West Hawaiʻi Civic Center to discuss these issues and batter around a bunch of ideas, included providing a shuttle parking service for employees in the village and creating an annual parking pass.

This issue has garnered so much public concern that when Hawai‘i County Councilwoman Rebecca Villegas arrived two minutes before the start of the meeting, she was unable to get in the door due to the already packed room.

“People are clearly frustrated,” said Kona resident Michael O’Connor, who attended the meeting. “I think good ideas were floated and people have a vested interest in solving the problem.”

O’Connor said businesses are struggling, parking lots are largely empty and if the issues arenʻt addressed, there will continue to be a deterioration of the Kona community.

Parking rates in Kona compared to other popular business areas in the state are out of whack, he said, citing his recent visit to O‘ahu.

He paid $5 per hour to park in the Disney Hawai‘i Resort Aulani, which “I would consider that a premium area. The parking lot was packed and the businesses were packed.”

Over the past few years, the patchwork of parking lots along and around Kailua-Kona’s touristy Aliʻi Drive from King Kamehameha Kona Beach Resort to Coconut Grove have drastically increased their parking rates, with some previously free places to park transitioning to pay lots.

A little more than a year ago, parking lot fees ranged from $9 to $15 per hour. Julie Ziemelis, the meeting’s organizer and founder of 365 Hawai‘i Community Fund, said those prices now range from $12 to $21 an hour.

The paid parking lots are owned by private landowners who contract primarily with two parking companies, Parklinq and Diamond Parking Services.

Some of the paid parking lots provide free time or discounts. Coconut Grove and Kona Inn, both operated by Parklinq, offer the first 90 minutes free for kamaʻāina with a valid Hawaiʻi Driver’s License.

The community wanted a reduction in the rates, and was supportive of a $3 per hour parking fee.

Smaller ideas discussed were painting diagonal parking stalls along Kuakini Highway above the Coconut Grove Marketplace.

Villegas said she was grateful the community is rallying together and getting organized because the parking issues are “causing unnecessary burdens to an already challenged ecosystem,” in which some businesses are claiming they have experienced a 70% decline in revenue.

For Villegas, the next step is talking to the landowners and continuing research on what can be done from a policy standpoint. She said she is continuing to try to find existing legislation and look at other municipalities to see how they manage and mitigate this type of problem.

“Ideally, you don’t have to legislate for common sense,” said Villegas, who would like to see more uniformity with the fees.

Bobby Command, deputy director for Hawai‘i County, said he’s been in contact with Ziemelis about the parking issue and informed her about some of the programs implemented by the Roth administration to mitigate the parking issues.

The county tried a park-and-ride system where patrons could park at Target and a trolley would shuttle people into town. It was underutilized and was ultimately done away with.

The public has questioned why the county can’t open parking at Hale Halāwai, located on Ali‘i Drive, which has approximately 35 stalls.

Command said the park is not zoned for public parking and is a space where events are hosted for kūpuna (elderly) and keiki (children). If the parking did open up to the public, he said it would be difficult to police without a parking monitor.

Mayor-elect Kimo Alameda wasn’t at the meeting but has been in touch with Ziemelis. He plans to have a conversation with her about solutions to the parking problem that could be acted upon immediately.

“Any low-hanging solution is something I’d be interested in implementing,” said Alameda, who takes office on Dec. 2.