Council Considers Residential Parking Zones For Honolulu Neighborhoods
The bill would allow creation of districts offering residents the chance to obtain special permits in high-congestion areas.
Residents who search daily for parking on聽congested streets in their neighborhoods may find relief with a measure being considered by the Honolulu City Council.
, which聽would allow the city to create “residential parking zones,” cleared another hurdle Wednesday when the council unanimously passed it on second reading. If the bill becomes law, residents in certain neighborhoods would be able to get聽permits granting them privileges to park in spaces beyond allotted time limits displayed on street signs.
It鈥檚 the city鈥檚 latest attempt to manage parking on Honolulu鈥檚 congested streets.
In June, Honolulu created聽its . The zone was made permanent following聽a month-long pilot program in April.
The permitting program in Kalihi offers each household along certain streets in Kalihi鈥檚 Wilson Tract two residential and two visitor permits. With the permits, residents aren鈥檛 subject to the one-hour parking time limits on Kalihi streets from聽6 p.m. to 6 a.m.
Aside from Kalihi Valley, no other Oahu communities have requested the zones, according to Jon Nouchi, deputy director of the Department of Transportation Services.
鈥淚n the past Manoa and Kailua have expressed interest,鈥 Nouchi wrote in an email.
A number of mainland cities, including Washington, D.C., San Francisco and Seattle, have residential parking zones to accommodate residents聽in neighborhoods where demand for parking is high.
A of Honolulu streets by found city streets in downtown Honolulu offer drivers 400 on-street parking spaces. The metered stalls in the area were occupied 77 percent of the time, the study found.
Waikiki had just 260 spaces at the time of the study, which聽found all of the on-street metered parking spaces occupied.
Drivers who find a stall in Honolulu鈥檚 dense commercial areas聽usually can鈥檛 park their cars for long. Marked parking stalls in聽Waikiki and downtown聽have a聽one-hour time limit. Other areas offer limits of two hours or longer.
Most cities charge residents for parking permits. San Francisco聽 for an annual pass, and prices in Seattle vary by neighborhood. Nouchi said Honolulu is considering fees for permits, but hasn鈥檛 yet created specific regulations.
introduced by Councilwoman Carol Fukunaga proposed requiring a fee for zone聽permits. The Transportation Committee deferred the bill that year.
Bill 51 would have no effect on parking meter fees, which the council voted to increase聽in June.
