Grass has grown so tall at Waimanalo District Park that small children playing there can vanish from sight, according to parents and coaches who say the overgrown field has become both a safety hazard and an obstacle to youth sports. Boxing coach Tony Graziano, who brings athletes to the park nearly every day, says his 5-year-old goddaughter is shorter than the grass itself, and that uneven ground hidden beneath it makes it hard for kids to see where they are stepping while running.
“The grass is taller than her,” Graziano said of his goddaughter, describing a field where, as reported by Hawaii News Now, young children can disappear into the grass when they run or bend down to pick something up. Sunnie Martinez, another parent who relies on the park, said her 3-year-old son is not yet three feet tall, underscoring just how easily a toddler could be swallowed up by the uncut field.
The conditions have also sidelined youth football practice. Kaleo Evans told Hawaii News Now that teams can no longer use the space because they cannot prepare it for practice, including by painting lines or placing cones.
Neighbors Take Matters Into Their Own Hands
Frustrated by the conditions, community members who use the park for football and soccer cut grass on one side of the field to create a space for children to play, Graziano told Hawaii News Now. The effort covers only part of the park. Broader maintenance concerns were also raised at this month's Waimanalo Neighborhood Board meeting.
Thielen said the district’s size makes it difficult for mowing crews to keep up with weekly schedules. “At best, they're mowing once every two weeks,” she said, according to Hawaii News Now.
Staffing And Equipment Problems Compound The Issue
A parks department spokesperson cited several staff retirements in the district and a large mowing machine down for repairs as factors slowing maintenance. The problems in Waimanalo reflect broader challenges across Oahu’s park system, where year-round use makes field upkeep difficult, according to KHON2. DPR spokesperson Nate Serota told the station that some areas receive scheduled maintenance while others are handled as needed.
As a possible fix, Thielen proposed partnering with community groups through the city's Adopt-a-Park program to help maintain parks between scheduled city visits. Under her proposal, Adopt-a-Park volunteers could mow during the alternate weeks when city crews are not scheduled to visit, including at the Waimanalo field. The Department of Parks and Recreation says it is responsible for maintaining 394 designated parks and more than 1,700 acres of undeveloped land across Oahu with limited staff and resources, and frames volunteering as one way residents can help maintain and improve park lands.
Parents Push Back On Volunteer Model
Some residents object to shifting mowing work to volunteers. Graziano said public park maintenance should remain the city’s responsibility. Martinez also said families already have demanding work schedules and should not be expected to maintain public parks.
Elsewhere on Oahu, youth sports groups have taken on field preparation themselves. Two Pearl City Little League 12U teams scheduled a field-work day at Breene Harimoto Manana Community Park, an example DPR cited of staff and volunteer coordination that can help reduce the need for major rehabilitation closures. The department has also held Field User Meetings aimed at standardizing permitting and maintenance across its parks.
The department says it operates 221 ball diamonds and 129 play fields around Oahu, according to its outdoor-field information. The Pearl City example involved teams scheduling their own field work; in Waimanalo, Thielen proposed community mowing between city visits, while the stated city schedule is at best once every two weeks. The islandwide figures describe the scale of the system, but do not specify how many maintenance staff are assigned to Waimanalo.
For now, families who rely on Waimanalo District Park say they simply hope the grass gets cut soon so children can safely play and practice there again. Whether that happens through city crews catching up on their rounds or through an Adopt-a-Park arrangement remains an open question, one that will likely come up again as the neighborhood board and parks department continue talking through solutions.
