Q. Who has jurisdiction over private roads? We live on Leahi Avenue and have been told that one side is public and the other is private. When we have problems and try to get them handled, we get the runaround. For example, a longtime resident neighbor died and the property was sold. The new owners made a garden in the unpaved area that runs along the road and had been an unofficial walkway/sidewalk for decades for schoolchildren and others. What can we do?

A. Unfortunately, there's no easy answer to your question, according to David Tanoue, deputy director of the city's Department of Planning and Permitting.

It turns out issues regarding private roads are private civil matters in which the city does not get involved, he said.

"Usually private roads are owned by the property owners fronting the private roads and any issues/concerns arising out of the use of the road need to be resolved among the various owners," he said.

Tanoue said you can hire an attorney. But he said the most city involvement usually occurs with the Department of Facility Maintenance fixing potholes on the private road as long as it remains open for general public use. There are many private roads in older areas that were built by private developers, he said. Now, developers more commonly construct the road up to city standards — with curbs, gutters and sidewalks — then dedicate it to the city so the city will pay the cost of upkeep.

Q. So what happened with the benches and trash cans blocking handicapped access along Kalaniana'ole Highway near Kalani High School?

A. It turns out the state widened the sidewalk, then the city installed the benches and trash receptacles. James Burke, chief public transit division for the city Department of Transportation Services, said the city went back out and measured and found some problems after your recent call. So Burke ordered removal of two benches and one trash receptacle.

Burke said normally the city puts in the benches at the request of the community. "We don't put benches there when no one asks. And right now there are no substitute smaller benches," Burke said, so the sidewalks will be acceptable but there will be no place to sit.

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