ALA MOANA, Hawaii (KHON2) -- Ala Moana is known as the people's park, but one thing we don't see there yet is dogs. City officials are considering to change that.
Mana finished his morning walk at Kakaako Waterfront Park with his owner Kaila Ripley.
"I love it," Ripley said. "It's scenic but I also love that I get to have some one-on-one time with my pup you know."
It's one of the small percentage of parks on Oahu that allow dogs at all. In fact, only 45 of the city's 402 parks allow leashed animals, but they're not allowed at the city's most popular park: Ala Moana Beach Park.
"So really for us, it's about finding that balance," said Nate Serota, Honolulu Parks & Recreation spokesperson. "Really we want to accommodate as many different park users as possible. Whether that's the dog walkers, pet kahus and people who may be adverse to seeing dogs. There are people who are afraid of animals and want to use the park as a respite, and we recognize that as well."
The change at Ala Moana Park is in its preliminary stages. The city is looking at increasing the overall number of dog-friendly parks across the island.
"Focused on working with the community on this," said Serota. "We wanna hear what they want out of this because we don't wanna make decisions in a vacuum, we wanna have their concerns and their kuleana brought to the table."
With all the sidewalks and paths, Ala Moana Beach Park is the ideal place to walk your dog. City officials said there are good reasons why it's not allowed here yet.
"The two big ones are really the people, the irresponsible pet kahus who do not pick up after their animal, so the health concerns," said Serota. "And those, the dangerous animals."
"No really bother me," said Tony Prentice, parkgoer. "I mean just pick up your guy's stuff. Don't let your dog run around, attack kids, then everything's good."
"It's a pretty good idea," said Stuart Andrade, parkgoer. "Although with that, if they allow it, they need to pick up their poop, gotta be responsible dog owners."
Right now, all talks are still at the neighborhood board level. The city encourages dog owners to provide input. If any changes are made, they likely won't start until next July.
"You gotta start somewhere," said Ripley. "And if it starts with opening just a couple more parks to let dogs on leashes - that's the important part, on leashes - the discipline of that, I feel like it would be a great benefit."
Those who would like to comment should reach out to their neighborhood board.
