Haiku Stairs which are often calling the Stairway to Heaven, are possibly going to be removing next year. This decision is following a Honolulu City Council meeting. That meeting was to discuss ongoing issues with the site. These stairs, whose 3,922 steps wind through a huge part of the big island, were originally built by the US Navy in the 1940s. Reaching a dramatic apex through the clouds, many locals do consider the view to be the best in all of Hawaii. The stairs were permanently making off-limits to the public in 1987. However, that did stop hikers, it seems YouTubers, thrill-seekers, and other tourists from sneaking/trespassing into the site. Over years, there have been many injuries. The most recent one was involving a 24-year-old who hurt his knee. He had to be airlifted out in April.
Haiku Stairs is an Expensive Proposition for Hawaii
“Haiku Stairs is a huge liability and expense for the city due to rampant illegal trespassing. In fact, it impacts the quality of life for nearby residents,” said councilmember Esther Kiaʻāina. Kiaʻāina, whose district includes local island, authored Resolution 21-154, the proposal to remove the stairs. The Honolulu City Council voted unanimously in favor of removing the staircase for good on September 8th. “Nearly $1 million in taxpayer dollars has been using to remodel the starts and hundreds of thousands of dollars in security costs spent by the city. This is according to council member Brandon Elefante. In fact, the measure was sending to Honolulu Mayor Rick Blangiard. Moreover, he is expecting to approve the removal of the Haiku Stairs. Then allocate $1 million of the city’s budget to cover the expense. He has 60 days to make a final decision.
“Fundamentally, it is really not appropriate to have a high-use tourist attraction enter through this residential neighborhood, because it does lack the capacity to provide appropriate facilities or parking,” the mayor wrote in an email. “In addition, there is no unrestricted access to the stairs. In fact, the primary landowner at the base has made it crystal clear, he is not interesting in providing access.
