During festivals like the Waikiki Fall Festival, attendees can enjoy food, shopping and crafts. Though the event brings community and joy, it can also cause heavy traffic due to road closures during rush hour.
WAIKIKI, Hawaii (KHON2) — Thousands of residents and visitors flooded the Waikiki streets for the Waikiki Fall Festival. Next week, Kalakaua Avenue will be closed once more in celebration of the Honolulu Pride Parade.
During festivals like the Waikiki Fall Festival, attendees can enjoy food, shopping and crafts. Though the event brings community and joy, it can also cause heavy traffic due to road closures during rush hour.
For some, it seems like there is always a street festival or parade happening in Waikiki. A new bill moving through the City Council is looking to change that.
According to Bill 50, as of July, there are 40 permits to close Kalakaua Avenue for either parades, street festivals or other activities planned for the remainder of 2024.
If passed, the bill would limit the number of events to six permits per year for parades and street festivals to help reduce the strain on residents, visitors, first responders and businesses caused by the road closures.
“With the frequent closures, it has been a nightmare for our staff to get to and from work and presents a huge operational strain when customers cannot get into Waikiki,” explained Alison Tanaka from Tanaka of Tokyo.
According to Robert Finley from the Waikiki Neighborhood Board, frustrated pedestrians are jaywalking through traffic due to the long delay of waiting for a traffic light.
The City Council has voted to pass the bill but will also continue to work on balancing the culture and economic benefits of the parades and “legacy activities” with the complaints of Waikiki residents and businesses.