Page 4 - MidWeek Windward - August 11 2021

4 AUGUST 11, 2021
Revamped Skate Park Rolls Into Kailua, Thanks To Mitsui, ASH, Community
address community needs. While multiple areas, includ- ing Keolu Hills, got skate parks constructed, after the rail project started, I noticed
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All that was left for the city to do was greenlight the project, which was done recently by director of Honolulu Depart- ment of Parks and Recreation Laura Thielen.
and it’s been a long journey,” Mitsui says.
that the public funds are no longer available.
solve problems. The success we’re having is showing other communities that with private input and alternative funding methods from donors and nonprofits, we can real- ly make a difference in our parks, which serve as hubs in our community that we can’t ignore.”
was installed there.
“We could skate there, but
“This partnership has been something I’ve been pushing for since the financial melt- down in 2008, and I worked previously with Mayor Har- ris’ Vision Committee to
“I worked with the city to do our part to help the com- munity get what it needs and
it wasn’t a lot of fun,” Mitsui says. “I kept hearing from the community, so we built some temporary obstacles like a rail, and benches and boxes, but I’ve been working to get permanent concrete obstacles installed since the 1990s.”
“I’ve been trying to raise funds and set money aside,
Mitsui founded the Asso- ciation of Skateboarders in Hawai‘i, which along with a personal donation, helped to raise the $130,000 necessary to upgrade the skate park. When the city was unable to find the funds to make the enhancements to the skate park, Mitsui spearheaded a public-private partnership and secured the necessary render- ings and permits to ensure the job would be done properly.
“We’re really appreciative of ASH for persevering ... (and for) the generosity, and also (for) them sticking with us through this process to get this done,” Thielen says.
(Left) Mitsui, through Association of Skateboarders of Hawai‘i, worked for years to get improvments made to Kailua Skate Park. LAWRENCE TABUDLO PHOTO (Above) Local skaters help to remove an obstacle from the skate park; (Facing page) A rendering of the finished skate park. PHOTOS COURTESY CITY & COUNTY OF HONOLULU
Mitsui explains that skat- ers can look forward to three brand-new concrete features being built: an A-frame bank-to-bank structure for jumps, a taco-shaped quarter pipe, and a bank with quarter pipe, which all provide vari- ous degrees of difficulty and
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