HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 1242.003 2006-2008
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HILO DOWNTOWN IMPROVEMENT ASSOCIATION
329 Kamehameha Avenue - Hilo, Hawaii 96720 - Tel. (808) 935-8850 Fax: (808) 9354356
DIRECTORS www.DowntownHilo.com info@downtownhilo.com
Tom Brown Jul
President y 2 2008
Gary Cass
Vice President Council Member Brenda Ford
Hawai' i County Council
SSecreettalry "d'r Jr.
Ray Robinson 25 Aupuni St.
Treasurer Hilo, HI 96720
Larry Black
Doll Strazar RE: Bill 308
Jeffrey Melrose
Karyl Franks Dear Council member Ford,
Alice Moon
"Quack" Moore
Rhonda Nichols The Hilo Downtown Improvement Association supports the elimination of the present
Turn Around located at the end of Kamehameha Ave. With the proposed re-striping of
the makai shoulder area, a total of eight new diagonal parking stalls will be gained in
the transformation. It should be noted that the additional parking has an immediate
positive result in serving nearby businesses, community events at the Hilo Armory
Gymnasium and County employees working at the Armory. The end user
residents/shoppers/visitors have immediate benefits.
It should be noted that an unofficial polling of businesses located street-side confirms
that actual turn-around traffic is very minimal with most cars continuing on to
Wailuku Drive. As the only known turn-around on the island, it has outlived its
usefulness as a railway routing station.
The DIA has stated, supported and promoted an ongoing plea for additional parking
downtown. Given the lack of incentives to reward landowners to convert empty
(overgrown) downtown properties to address the parking shortage, there is no relief on
the horizon. At this stage of the game, every little bit helps in a very big way.
Finally, our collective business mantra has been that the revitalization and financial
health of downtown Hilo is tied to parking, parking, parking. Small business is and
will always be the backbone of our economy as we continue "to provide leadership to
make Hilo an attractive place to live, work and play." The iconic phrase "Build it and
they will come" is tempered by the reality of "But where will they park?"
Mahalo a nui loa,
amP uoe
Executive Director
Our mission is to provide leadership that develops and nurtures downtown Hilo
as a safe and attractive place to live, work and play. COMM N0. / 2.442.
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