For more than 20 years, Hawaii’s leaders have debated over what to do with Hawaii’s iconic Haiku Stairs — a 3,922-step metal staircase that takes visitors up the Koolau Mountain Range on the island of Oahu and evokes the sensation of walking in the clouds (thus its well-known nickname: “Stairway to Heaven”).

The issue at hand is that hiking the stairs is illegal. Built in 1943 as a way to reach a radio station built to transmit radio signals to Navy ships sailing throughout the Pacific, the stairs were not meant to be a public trail. There’s not even a defined entry point — instead, illegal hikers sneak through a residential neighborhood, often trespassing through the backyard of homes, to gain access to the stairs.

At last count, the Honolulu Fire Department had rescued at least 118 people on the Stairway to Heaven since 2010. Earlier this month, a hiker and dog were rescued after a 50-foot fall.

The Honolulu City Council voted unanimously to remove the stairs back in 2021, a vote backed by Honolulu Mayor Rick Blangiardi. Last month, the City and County of Honolulu took their efforts even further.

On Aug. 29, Honolulu announced that it awarded a $2.5 million demolition contract to The Nakoa Companies, Inc. — the same company that repaired the stairs under a previous administration.

“Our decision to remove Haiku Stairs was predicated on a number of factors. First and foremost public safety; both for hikers and especially for surrounding residential community that has endured illegal trespass, harassment, and property damage for decades from those seeking access to the stairs,” Blangiardi said in a statement. “Secondly, we do not believe the managed access plan as proposed by the Friends of Haiku Stairs is feasible, cost effective or a solution to illegal access.”

Actual demolition, though, may have to wait on a pending court battle.

The Friends of Haiku Stairs, a nonprofit organization formed in 1987 to protect and maintain the stairs, sued Honolulu last month for violating environmental laws, saying it relied on an “outdated, and legally irrelevant” environmental impact statement from 2019. 

“The City has been presented a managed access plan that would not cost them any taxpayer dollars, removes all liability, and presents access to the Stairs outside the residential area,” said Friends of Haiku Stairs President Sean Pager in a statement. 

The group intends to fight to save the stairs. It wants to stop the city from proceeding with the demolition and require a new environmental impact statement.

“The City’s attempt to use an outdated study to justify their proposed demolition for the Haiku Stairs is both inappropriate and unlawful,” said attorney Tim Vandeveer in a press release. “Through this lawsuit, Plantiffs seek to ensure that environmental impacts are carefully studied, decision makers are properly informed, and the public has an opportunity to participate.”