If you’ve ever had your vehicle towed from the parking lot of the Ala Wai Small Boat Harbor in Waikīkī, you are not alone.

The lot has become a major tow-away zone due to confusing signs and the almost complete lack of any other type of active parking enforcement, harbor users have complained.

Now plans are afoot to add 200 signs clarifying restrictions in the harbor’s 900 parking spaces and emphasizing the very real threat of being towed if you violate the rules.

Repaving of the parking area is also planned in the next 18 months, according to draft plans presented at a community meeting earlier this week at the Waikiki Yacht Club attended mainly by members of the boating community.

Signage would be standardized, interactive and provide more information on payment methods, license plate registration and restrictions, said Jonathan Alexander, the general manager of Secure Parking.

The company signed a three-year contract with the state last July, and keeps just under 20% of the revenue from paid parking, approximately $200,000 a year. The state gets the rest.  

Alexander said the company would integrate feedback from the community before deciding on a final plan. It isn’t responsible for the repaving project, but included the information at the meeting. That work is scheduled to get underway in 2026.

Averaging 5 Tows A Day

Drivers who violate parking restrictions at the harbor are far more likely to have their vehicles towed than receive citations, according to data from the Department of Land and Natural Resources and the towing contractor, Mr Tow. 

In 2023, about 2,000 vehicles were towed, while only seven were instead issued parking citations, according to a group of harbor users calling itself Save Surf Parking that cited records from the DLNR’s enforcement division. 

Tows during 2023 averaged five a day as of Oct. 11, at a cost to violators of $165 per tow, Mr Tow’s operations manager, Mary Jo Rivera, wrote in an email to a DLNR administrator. Towing 2,000 vehicles would have generated revenue of $330,000 that year

The towing company keeps 100% of the revenue; the state pays Mr. Tow $1 a year to supply the service.

The company did not respond Wednesday to a request for more recent towing statistics, and DLNR spokesperson Patti Jette said the state has not been tracking the numbers. 

The new signage would make clear that parking rules are strictly enforced at the public harbor, Alexander said. Alexander said adding a dozen large signs specifically about enforcement came in response to feedback from customers. 

Kate Thompson from Save Surf Parking said that better signage and increased ticketing could lead to a “90% reduction in towing.” 

The towing contract, up for renewal July 1 for the first time in five years, has been criticized by Thompson’s group for a lack of transparency because the company isn’t required to provide the state with updates on the number of tows.

The DLNR did not respond to questions about whether the towing contract would be renewed.

“Monthly reporting of the number of tows in the service area would be normal for most parking management and towing contracts, yet DLNR is not requiring it,” Thompson wrote to the governor’s office this year.

“Although towing is unfortunate,” the governor’s office answered on March 13, the state “has to resort to the towing option, otherwise cars will sit in the parking lot and prevent other patrons from enjoying the space.”

Are Other Changes Coming?

The Secure Parking presentation also hinted at other changes the company is considering to increase revenue. 

One-third of the parking spaces at the Ala Wai Harbor are currently allocated to users with long-term permits, another third is hourly paid parking and a final third is set aside for free parking. Bruce Swartz, Oʻahu district manager for the state Division of Boating and Ocean Recreation, said at the start of the meeting at the yacht club that there was no plan to alter that formula.  

DLNR chair Dawn Chang has opposed setting a legally mandated number of free parking stalls in legislative testimony, saying that increased parking revenues would help pay for repairs and maintenance costs. 

The yacht club meeting veered off course and audience voices rose when Alexander said that Secure Parking was considering converting all paid parking stalls to hourly parking — meaning that spaces currently reserved for permit holders would be open to anyone.

Alexander cited a survey conducted by Secure Parking showing that the average daily occupancy of all parking stalls at the harbor was only 40%. The survey was done during different times of the day and week from May 2 to last Saturday, he said.  

Harbor users, including live-aboard residents, said the survey was flawed and didn’t reflect the reality of parking availability during peak times such as yacht races on Friday nights, or early morning launchings.

Alexander said the company was open to revisiting the data with more community input, but added that there is no funding for a major study.

It was understandable that the company would be looking at ways to increase its revenue, harbor user and parking permit holder Chris Breen said after the meeting. But he said opening up permit stalls to hourly users would penalize harbor users with legitimate reasons for wanting to reserve car space near their vessels.

“When you turn up to supply your boat, you’re bringing your crew, scuba tanks, fishing gear and other supplies,” Breen said. “You can’t be hauling that from the other end of the parking lot.”

Breen and other attendees suggested other ways Secure Parking could look to boost revenue, such as offering guest parking permits.

The parking lot changes will occur against a backdrop of continued support by DLNR for a public-private partnership to redevelop the harbor. 

A pair of bills that would have allowed DLNR’s Division of Boating and Ocean Recreation to lease the management of the harbor died this legislative session. State Sen. Sharon Moriwaki said she would reintroduce the measures next session. 

Ala Wai Harbor has about 700 slips and is the state’s largest small boat harbor. It also faces a massive backlog of maintenance issues.