Recently, I went on a family trip to the Big Island. From town to town, we visited beautiful parks with amazing playgrounds, clean well-stocked facilities and exceptional up-keep. This made me wonder. How is it that a place with lower tax revenue, a smaller workforce and larger land area outperforming the county of Honolulu? O’ahu should be setting the standard by which all of the other islands should follow, yet our public parks are sub-par. Our parks are outfitted with cookie-cutter play structures, if any, dirty unstocked facilities and dilapidated sports fields. For example, take a look at Harold H. Higashihara Park versus Wahiawa District Park. Although the play apparatus in Wahiawa District Park was replaced in 2015, it has become an eye sore.
Does the problem lie within the park users, or does the problem generate from the leadership and trickle down? Where is the money going? I also implore you to compare the Anuenue Playground in Waimea, HI versus that of Mililani District Park, which has a slide passage that has been boarded up rather than repaired. Additionally, the park bathroom located in the large field never has soap, runs out of toilet paper and lacks cleanliness. Again, I ask, where is the money going?
