thankyou done that walk many times but never thought of doing a a video brings back a lot of memories!😊

Haven't taken visitors or family members to the Coconut Grove area since there is paid parking everywhere. Foster's Kitchen was always at the top of our list. We drive by the Coconut Grove area to enjoy the ocean view while going down Alii Drive. I agree with many of you. I tried once, twice, at the beginning, but it was not worth the hassle. Our family has explored many other areas that have the beautiful views, great atmosphere, great foods, better prices! and we have become regulars at other local establishments.

Yeah $18 an hour will keep us in Hilo. We won’t come toKona and shop ….ps…….that very large corporation in New Jersey doesn’t care

We just got home after a week of hunting for street parking in Kona. It’s was a true bummer to our vacation. We will never go back to Kona!

Happy anniversary! We are also here now celebrating our anniversary

why doesn't some entity make a high rise parking 3 story type business? that lot on Kuakini could be several stories. I had to quit my job in Kona because i could not afford the parking price.... I live in Ocean View, 45 miles drive to that job, no busses that could transport! we need more public transport...if busses could bring people to Kona, then the lots would not be so full.

And what does paid parking get you, nothing no security looking out for your car, nothing

We just came home from a week at our Kona timeshare. The wonderful idea of screwing tourists with $18. an hour parking is ridiculous. It is the last time we will be going too Kona. While we were there we totally boycotted all the businesses around those lots. There are other restaurants in town.

I remember when there were NO PAID PARKING lots in Kona besides King Kamehameha Hotel…😢

We come almost every year and we avoid Ali’i Drive now. Validation does nothing for people who don’t have a specific purpose except for just shopping.

Very cool place. The Puna Chocolate Shop is excellent

It does not matter how much it cost, it is a hassle. Not parking there. Sorry local businesses you have been screwed by your greedy landlords. Are these parking companies going to guarantee your information is safe and protected from hackers. Yea right! I wonder if any of these companies obtained a permit from the County to charge for parking. Here are some ideas I have to fix this mess. I think the County should enact an ordinance that charges per parking space in additional taxes above what they pay in property taxes. It should be so high that they will be happy to supply the free parking. They only have the right to use the property as Zoned. How about changing the Zoning as to not allow charging for parking! How about the Zoning be amended require free parking spaces based on size of the business. Hopefully one of these ideas are legal. A very pissed local!

One solution is to build a publicly owned parking garage(s) with free parking and a free local shuttle. Palm Springs did this years ago. Stops this nonsense from greedy parking lot pay apps.

Kona is a dump and full of homeless people. There's a reason Hilton left Kona years ago and moved north of the airport with all the other nice resorts. This paid parking madness is the last straw. Save your vacation dollars for a better location. Kona is seriously subpar. Locals only drive to Kona now for Walmart, Target or Costco. Recommend tourists stay in Hilo, closer to the Volcanos national park, closer to scenic waterfalls….better yet, skip the Big Island and go to Kauai (no paid parking on the entire island). Need pretty beaches? Go to Maui. Buying property? Big Island property taxes ARE DOUBLE the other islands. Truth is hard, but Kona is shooting itself in the foot. Who in their right mind would pay extra to visit a sub par location filled with homeless people and fat cruise ship passengers? Just sad.

We get a condo downtown Kona and walk everywhere, we’ll rent a car but just to explore the rest of the island

It was everywhere! All the lots are paid now, uggghhh

I heard about a year ago that at the only free parking lot (Kuakini) was full of TURO cars which precluded a lot folk parking there

Thanks again for another super informative video!❤ I may have missed it, but are people who don’t pay the tickets getting towed?

We love Foster’s and it ticks us off that the landlord is killing business! What a jerk!

Locals told me not to worry about paying cuz they never enforce it. Is that true?

Love Foster's Restaurant! Recommend to everyone!

A few trolleys from target and Ross lots would help . Sell 1 day 5 day monthly charges.

Thank you so much for this video. I’m not sure if you monitor these comments but I thought I’d give a brief summary of my experience. I live in Hilo. We parked at Ali’i Sunset Plaza a few years ago while my family was here visiting. At the time they had a window of time allowing free parking. We ate then left for several hours. Later in the day we came back for dinner and were ticketed. Both times we were there well short of the time frame allowed. Their signs didn’t say anything about allowing one visit per day. In short I ended up paying the ticket and have not been back since. I used to visit Ali’i drive and have lunch or dinner several times a year and they lost my business. I feel for the business owners but feel like the landlords are fleecing people. I hope it gets resolved.

Is it telling that most of your drone shots are of empty parking lots? Perhaps, in true Kona style, you would prefer us to swim, bike or run to get to town?? Was already planning my next trip. It will be very different this time as we will only likely “treat” ourselves once or twice to a Kona stroll rather than the daily visits. Feel sorry for the business owners. Best of luck with your town hall.

Hawaii is one of the most corrupt criminally wasteful states in the union. People living there dont realize how bad its got until they move elsewhere. The amount of revenue the state of hawaii is mismanaging and stealing is staggering. These paid parking lots regardless of whos running them is just a direct reflection of the criminals running the government. Money grabs everywhere, hawaii used to be so fun and cool, sucks its ruined

So what was the attendant going to do when you were 2 minutes past your time?

I was just in Kona and I was shocked at the parking prices. This caused us to avoid going to the main tourist area. One spot wanted to change over $30 for two hours.

Will be back to the Big Island next summer. Sadly, will not be visiting Kona. Paid parking?? No, thank you. If this greedy disease spreads, we won't be back to the Big Island at all😢

Have the city tax the parking lot with a new law

Always have enjoyed Foster’s but haven’t been there or anywhere downtown on Ali’i since the parking nonsense started. The lot landlords seem very shortsighted, and I really don’t think that people want to be bothered with validation, just saying.

The greedy politicians all Dems btw are going to be the ultimate downfall of Hawaii …. A welfare state built on tourism is not sustainable… Hawaii for L

The owner of that parking company is not from here and looks at this venture not as a benefit for anyone but himself. Locals don’t go into town because of his business, plus parklinq does not validation 👎🏽 boycott and get parklinq out of Kona! parklinq came to the landlords and put this in their minds. Parklinq trys to play “the victim” they’re the problem. Prklinq looked at little kona as a goldmine for himself. I spoke to him and he’s a snake. He’s very cocky and instead trying to help the locals he’s there for himself

There’s just too many issues to deal with this paid parking. Constantly worrying about how much time you have left. Handing over personal information, worrying if 1 1/2 hours is enough time for dinner (it’s not if you don’t want to be rushed). If I can’t park above coconut grove on Kuakini hwy (it’s still free). I will not be going.

I personally really appreciate that you are helping to tackle this issue. Kona was barely clawing its way back from the Covid closure crisis. Just as we start showing some momentum and reopening life in kona…then the paid parking happened. (No irony lost on the timing of this implementation right before Ironman 2022). I live here. I don’t always go to Alii to eat within a 90 min timeline. I want to enjoy my town, the waterfront, people,shops and the culture of town without a timer! There is way more to do here than just eat- on 90 min timeline. Do you know how stressful it is to have your phone alert the countdown to a parking ticket but you are in the middle of an enjoyable event?!? Kona is too small, too rural, too specialized and too quaint for such big city greed. I stand with the community to push back on this capitalist greed to charge us to park and patron our local businesses.

Not there any longer thanks to insane parking prices

I own a condo north of Kailua-Kona. The parking situation is a huge deterrent that makes me avoid downtown. I'm okay with paying a reasonable amount for public parking, but $15 or $18 per hour is way too much for a vacation area and surge pricing is a huge turn-off. Validation for patronizing tenants of a specific building is fine and all, but that doesn't do anything for the bigger picture of how people enjoy downtown. Downtown is not a collection of individual buildings, it's a general area that people walk around, enjoy, graze, shop and relax. If people have to move their car any time they visit a shop in a different property, that is still unwelcoming and will still cause them to avoid the general area. It really matters how much the non-validated parking fees cost. I would love to get 90 minutes free eating at Fosters, then if I want spend more time downtown, keep my car there and pay a reasonable amount. Maybe a solution is for the city of Kailua-Kona to set maximum limits on how much these lots can charge for parking. Perhaps something around $4 per hour. I think people will stay away if it's much more than that.

I have friends that are not okay to coming to Kona town! Thank you, 360 Hawaii. I will not give credit card.

81 days, can't wait, best ribs ever at Fosters

So many empty storefronts after covid, no one will want to come in if customers won't come due to parking gouging. Our Kona Shipping Center coffee place is gone now...

No Christmas shopping...maybe okay for tourist...but not okay for locals, no way I'm not okay with seeding my credit card with this mainland company, or otherwise.

We stayed in Kona for the first time two weeks ago. We had a wonderful trip, and on our last night, we had a great dinner at Fosters Kitchen. We will definitely come back.

Happy Anniversary 🎉❤

Happy Anniversary 🎉❤

Happy anniversary 🎉

Gupton gallery and others nearbywill validate and update no worries, even if you aren’t shopping there.

I eat at Fosters all the time. In waikoloa..I drive there from Kona.

Thanks Julie for keeping the spotlight on this crisis. We’re snowbirds with a home down in Keauhou that we spend six months a year in, and we send the County of Hawaii over $15,000 a year for the privilege of ownership. For a number of reasons we cannot change our residency over to Hawaii, so with this parking debacle we cannot avail our selves with the “local resident” discount or exemption. Before all this started happening two winters ago, we would be downtown parking in the farmers market lot and visiting all the shops and restaurants to the north like Kona Inn. When that lot went paid, we stopped going anywhere around there (except Fish Hopper that has their own private lot). Then last year when Coconut Grove went pay, we quit going to those shops and restaurants. Now it’s Jackie Rey’s, Brew Block or Tropics Tap House in Keauhou shopping center, or with enough time we head north to the King and Queen shops and their restaurants. How about this for an “outside the box” solution for Kona’s parking crisis? Over by Target there are some large graded lots sitting unused, and there is a large empty paved lot up at the Makalapua Shopping Center (old K-Mart & Regal theater) that are sitting empty. What if the city leases the lot and allows people to park there. Then Uber drivers could pick us up there and shuttle us to the stores and restaurants that are next to the parking pirate lots. It would probably be less than paying to park in these lots, give a bunch of locals another side gig to make some money, and we would get personalized door to door service. This would be a win for all (except for a parking lot pirates of course).😊

I would estimate close to 75% of the businesses and restaurants on Ali'i drive are vacant right? maybe not that hight but it is a ghost town compared to a few years ago.

We quit going to Ali’i drive when the new parking policies went into effect. We live quite a distance away and now visit stores and restaurants closer to home.

We have been to Kona numerous times, and we got married on Kukio Beach. Never had a problem with parking till last May. We normally would park where the farmers market is. Now it is cheaper in the paid parking area on the corner for $16 an hour. Most likely, won't be back. Mahalo for the info.