Running public housing requires, at a minimum, that the residences be kept in livable condition.

And "livable" would mean the capacity to get to the front door of your apartment.

Even with those modest criteria in place, the current situation with the elevators serving Kuhio Park Terrace is a dismal example of how the state has dropped the ball at the low-income housing project, where years of neglect have converted basic maintenance needs into chronic dysfunction.

Only the freight elevator in one of the two buildings is working, and not very well at that. In the other tower, the freight elevator and one of the passenger elevators are in service.

That leaves residents waiting or forced to mount the stairs in the 16-story buildings. For the short term, that's annoying. But for the months that elevators have been out at KPT, it's just intolerable.

Kuhio Park Terrace was built more than 40 years ago at a time when the high-rise was considered a workable design for public housing developments. Planners have largely abandoned that view, but the fact remains that in a state where land costs are at a premium, it makes sense that units in the urban core be kept in the dwindling stock of affordable rentals.

Now, the state needs to address the situation there for what it is: a public safety emergency.

Hawai'i Public Housing Authority officials say that maintenance crews have been working on the problems this week. The state agency will be using federal dollars set aside in the next month or so to hire a consultant who will draw up a plan for replacing the elevator cabs altogether.

But to pay for the new gear and its installation, the state will tap the $5 million the Legislature appropriated for elevator repairs across the Islands.

What's distressing is that the governor had requested $15 million for this purpose: There are other public-housing projects in need of elevator repairs, including elderly housing in Waipahu.

Keeping our public housing in decent repair is a government responsibility. The state must do better for the people in its care.