Citations issued for trespassing closed Haiku Stairs
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If you're thinking of taking the "Stairway to Heaven," it could lead you on a path to the courthouse.
Police are urging the public to stay off the closed Haiku Stairs that are slated for demolition.
Honolulu Police Maj. Randall Platt, District 4 (Windward Oahu) commander, said Monday that police have shifted from issuing warnings this past weekend to criminal citations for trespassing, an arrestable offense, as a deterrent.
Platt said word spread that demolition would begin soon, so over the weekend visitors and locals alike descended on multiple locations to get to the base of the stairs, many starting their ascent to the top as early as 4 a.m. in an attempt to evade law enforcement.
Police issued on Saturday and Sunday 60 warnings and eight trespassing citations, but that changed Monday.
As of 2 p.m. Monday,
police had issued 37 second-degree criminal trespassing citations, which are petty misdemeanors, to those daring to defy the law and take the stairs that go up a steep ridgeline in Kaneohe.
Platt said some hikers were caught "pretty high up. It's wherever we catch them."
Officers are also citing cars parked illegally and blocking driveways. Vehicles parked near fire hydrants will be towed.
He likened hiking the stairs to wanting to have one last meal at a favorite restaurant that is closing down.
But unlike restaurants, Platt warned that the stairs are not a safe place to be during the dismantling work.
"On top of it being illegal, it's an active work site," he said. "There's heavy machinery over there. The helicopter is working back and forth. It's dangerous for people to be up there in the first place."
"When you get into trouble — it's a strenuous hike — you put yourself at risk, and on top of that, the first responders who have to go up and rescue you are also at risk," Platt said. He encouraged hikers to take
state-sanctioned, open trails through the Na Ala Hele
program.
Platt encouraged those who still may be inclined to hike the stairs to think of others.
"It's not about you, and don't be selfish," Platt said. He said it will put workers at risk, the environment, tracking in invasive species.
"It's really not pono," he said. "It's about doing the right thing."
"We constantly get calls for trespassing," he said. Residents report hikers cutting their fences, running through their yards along the walls of their houses below their windows to avoid being seen and using their garden hoses to wash off.
The city said Nakoa Cos., which is contracted to do the $2.34 million removal work, is expected to begin
at the end of April and is scheduled to take six months, weather permitting.
A blessing and a separate news conference were held April 10 for the dismantling of the steel stairs, which have been a concern for the city due to liability costs and public safety, as well as a concern for those living in Haiku Valley due to trespassing and a lack of parking.
Although the area of the stairs is accessible by way of a state trail originating in Moanalua Valley, the area is still closed off.
He said some who hike from Moanalua Valley would often take the Haiku Stairs down because it is much easier.
The vicinity surrounding the stairs is clearly marked government property and is prohibited, Platt said.
Without the stairs, it still will be illegal, he said.
Still pending is The Friends of Haiku Stairs' appeal filed in February with the Intermediate Court of Appeals against a lower court's ruling granting summary judgment to dismiss the Friends' lawsuit to block the removal.
