The stairs have to be demolished.

September 13, 2023

By Christine Hitt

...“Our decision to remove Haiku Stairs (click here) 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to protect and maintain the stairs, sued Honolulu last month for violating environmental laws, saying it relied on an “outdated, and legally irrelevant” environmental impact statement from 2019....

People are hung up on the name of "Stairway to Heaven." There is no sound environmental assessment that would back the continued existence of the stairway. The stairs were built of a military purpose during WW II after the USA entered the war when there were no environmental regulations at all. 

The mountain habitat is best served by removing all manmade objects and returning natural flora to the land. In doing so invasive species can be eliminated as there will be no foreign anything going up the stairs on shoes and/or boots. The natural habitat will return and with it native species of animals. The entire continued maintenance of the stairway is ridiculous. Besides returning the native habitat to nature, the landowners having their rights violated is nonsense. Every American has the right to peaceful utility of their property.

Take the stairs down, the demolition will be temporary and the land will recover afterward.