HONOLULU — The Honolulu City Council may expand a ban on sitting and lying down on sidewalks to neighborhoods beyond Waikiki. ADVERTISING HONOLULU — The Honolulu City Council may expand a ban on sitting and lying down on sidewalks to
HONOLULU — The Honolulu City Council may expand a ban on sitting and lying down on sidewalks to neighborhoods beyond Waikiki.
The council plans to vote on Bill 48 Wednesday. The proposal would expand the sit-lie ban enacted in September to pockets of commercial districts throughout Oahu.
Reclining on sidewalks in Waikiki was outlawed in September after pressure from the tourism industry.
Now, it could be prohibited in other parts of Honolulu, Kailua, Kaneohe and Waipahu.
Proponents say it’s unfair to let sleeping homeless people limit pedestrian access. Councilwoman Ann Kobayashi says small businesses can’t afford to have homeless people blocking their doorways and discouraging customers.
But opponents like Bishop Stephen Randolph Sykes of the Interfaith Alliance Hawaii say the proposal leaves homeless people with fewer places to rest at night.
