Hui Aloha Playground on Maui wins Public Design Award

The Hui Aloha Playground at Keopuolani Park was awarded the Public Design Award of Excellence at the recent 2010 Disability Access Conference, sponsored by the State of Hawaii Department of Health Disability and Communication Access Board (DCAB). The honorees for the award were the County of Maui Department of Parks & Recreation, the late Masaru “Pundy” Yokouchi, and Construction Unions and volunteers.

Hui Aloha Playground at Keopuolani Park in Kahului, Maui. Photo courtesy County of Maui.

According to Parks Director Tamara Horcajo, the Hui Aloha playground was a vision of the late “Pundy” Yokouchi, a renowned Maui businessman, philanthropist and patron of the arts who had the mission of creating a Boundless Playground – a barrier-free and developmentally advantageous playground for children of all abilities. The design includes wheelchair ramps and platforms to the structures to avoid barriers, and allows accessibility to people with disabilities.

“County Parks Project Manager Karla Peters was instrumental in seeing the playground through to completion, and Hui Aloha is now known as the first Boundless Playground in the state of Hawaii,” Horcajo said. “The playground was made possible through the hard work and collaboration between the County of Maui, our dedicated construction unions and many, many community volunteers whose efforts continue to make a difference in the lives of Maui’s children each day.”

“Pundy” Yokouchi’s widow, Shirley Ann, and Pundy’s daughter Miki joined Patrick Matsui, County of Maui Chief of Planning and Development, at the award ceremony held last month at the Ala Moana Hotel on Oahu.