This Waikiki free parking with a view is going to stay free, at least for now. The state of Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR), which administers the parking at the Ala Wai Boat Harbor (SBH), said today that “There is no truth to claims that we intend to eliminate free parking, which includes some spaces facing the lagoon, and many others at the coastline.
There are no immediate plans to change any of the free parking at the Ala Wai SBH — DLNR.
There are 300 parking spaces in the area nearby the Hilton Hawaiian Village, Illikai Hotel, and others that are free and intended for “recreational users.” 300 additional spots are paid parking.
There is currently proposed legislation that will mandate that the 300 parking spaces remain free. But DLNR said that, “In the very near future, we are going to do a request for proposals for the development within the facility itself. Since this is envisioned as a public-private partnership the current parking layout may shift some in the future.”
[Parking] could include a parking structure at the harbor. — DLNR.
Parking at the boat harbor is limited to six free hours. And signs indicate that the intended use is for activities including “surfing, swimming, boating and paddling.” DLNR points out that hotel and construction workers and people living in their cars are consuming a significant portion of the free parking. In addition, people are simply moving their cars after the time limit is up, which is not the intention of the free parking.
Why did the idea that free parking was being eliminated occur?
A recent proposal indicated that the free parking would be converted to digital meter parking here (Google Maps). These parking lots tend to get very crowded, with people waiting for others to depart. So some controls to avoid abuse of the free parking appear inevitable.
Tip: We mentioned previously that the lot towards the airport side tends to have many more spaces with fewer people waiting.
Get all the details on free and cheap Waikiki parking.
Visitors are encouraged to learn and respect the culture and one of the best ways to do that is to go and surround yourself with it, but then these same visitors are told not to go to these places which over course leaves them uneducated and disrespectful. Circular logic, Catch 22.