Final presentation scheduled for Ala Moana Regional Park Master Plan

Environmental Impact Statement Preparation Notice available online prior to presentation

News Release from City and County of Honolulu January 16, 2018

Ala Moana – The public is invited to the final meeting to discuss the Master Plan for Ala Moana Regional Park, scheduled for Monday, January 29, 2018, 6 p.m., at the McCoy Pavilion Auditorium.

This meeting includes a presentation of the Master Plan that was drafted following public forums in March 2015 and April 2016. During those forums, the public shared their vision of the park’s future and how they would like to see the park improved, all while maintaining the park’s current character. The public was also invited to provide feedback online at www.ouralamoanapark.com. Following this meeting, the Department of Parks and Recreation website, parks.honolulu.gov, will be the best location for further Ala Moana Regional Park information. 

Prior to the presentation, the public is encouraged to view the Environmental Impact Statement Preparation Notice(EISPN), now available online.

“The community has embraced the need to update what President Franklin Delano Roosevelt called ‘The People’s Park’ when it was dedicated back in 1934”, said Mayor Kirk Caldwell. “I’m pleased this process has generated so many exciting ideas to restore, revitalize and enhance this 119-acre jewel in the heart of urban Honolulu.”

The purpose of the EISPN for the Master Plan is to outline a variety of short and long-term projects and park improvements to restore, revitalize, and enhance Ala Moana Regional Park, including ʻĀina Moana (Magic Island). Those include:

• Sand replenishment and long-term beach nourishment
• Reconfiguring parking layout without losing stalls
• Repaving the Ala Moana Park Drive
• Renovating McCoy Pavilion and the Banyan Courtyard
• Widening pedestrian access over drainage canal at Pi‘ikoi and Queen streets
• Improving the park road crossing to the canoe launch ramp near the Ala Wai Boat Harbor
• Expansion of promenades along Ala Moana Park Drive and the Ala Wai Boat Harbor
• Increasing access to the central, raised area
• Improving and hardscaping pond edges
• Incorporating a multi-use facility into the Lawn Bowling area

The draft Environmental Impact Statement is expected to be completed by the end of summer 2018.

While this Master Plan was being drafted, more immediate park improvements have been implemented through the Mayor’s 9-Point Community Action Plan, all of which have been or are currently being addressed. They include:

• Renovating the existing comfort stations
  • Ongoing Diamond Head Bathhouse renovations and future Ewa Bathhouse improvements
  • Improvements to the ʻĀina Moana comfort stations
  • Future outdoor shower improvements at ʻĀina Moana
• Fixing the rocky areas of the beach
  • Staff and volunteer efforts to relocate rocks along shoreline October 2016
  • Sand pushing and cleaning efforts
• Irrigating the Great Lawn and ʻĀina Moana
  • Completion of the new central-controlled irrigation system for the main 76-acre body of the park set for summer 2018
  • ʻĀina Moana irrigation improvements scheduled to begin March 2018
• Improving or adding exercise facilities
  • Completion of the island’s first designated sand volleyball courts
  • ʻĀina Moana pathway sealed and painted
  • Additional exercise equipment cluster to be installed.
• Increasing park staff
  • 14 permanent staff hired including groundskeepers and park caretakers
• Beautifying the park
  • Planted 44 trees along Ala Moana Boulevard in Fall 2016
  • Installed new hooded steel trash receptacles through a private-public partnership in September 2017
  • PSA on dangers of improperly dumping coals
• Building a playground
  • On-going process through a public-private partnership
• Making the park safer
  • No vandalism reported at two bathhouse facilities following installation of security cameras
  • All existing lights at bathhouses, comfort stations, and concessions upgraded to brighter, energy-efficient LED lighting. Additional conversions planned
  • Additional park rangers monitoring park during afternoon hours
  • Security gates and screens added to comfort stations
• Adding local vendors as a park amenity
  • Two L & L BBQ locations opened in summer 2015

As one of the state’s oldest and busiest parks, dedicated in 1934 and currently seeing an estimated four million users every year, Ala Moana Regional Park has become an integral part of our island community. The city hopes this facility will continue to be a resource that the public treasures, all while hosting annual events, such as the Lantern Floating Hawaiʻi ceremony and Independence Day fireworks, and special occasions, such as the return of the Hōkūleʻa.

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