Q. I have a puzzle, not a complaint. For years, I have walked past an unkempt hole in the ground in a grassy area alongside Keahole Street, near Kalaniana'ole Highway in Hawai'i Kai. The hole is maybe 10 feet across. Now that the city is building a dog park there, I thought it would just be filled in. However, the dog park people have retained the hole, and put a fence around it. Why? Do gnomes or trolls live down there?

A. Well, you certainly piqued my curiosity.

The hole is apparently there to stay but not because it's a gnome home.

"It's not really a hole, it's a drain catchment that was always part of the property," said Lester Chang, city director of parks and recreation.

Why? Well, that's a mystery. The city doesn't know why the hole was left open or why the drainage pipe stops at the road instead of continuing the pumping system underground.

"It came up when the dog park was being developed and we had asked our designers to take a look and come up with a design plan to either cover it up and extend the pipe or do something to make it look more presentable," Chang said.

For the time being, the area has been fenced off so no people or canines fall in.

Chang said that with the safety issue out of the way, the hole isn't a top priority for the parks department, especially since some sort of drainage facility is needed there.

"We're lucky to have that property because it's really not officially a park but it was perfect for the dog park," he said.

As for whether anything has moved into the hole, "There's no trolls that we know of," Chang said.

Q. In regards to your April 3 article on downtown bicycle rules, what streets outline "Downtown?"

A. Just to recap, the April 3 column discussed riding bicycles on the sidewalk. In general, you can ride on the sidewalk unless a sign says otherwise or you're in a special district, such as Downtown or Waikiki.

The Revised Ordinances of Honolulu define downtown as "generally bounded by Nu'uanu Stream, Vineyard Boulevard, Alakea Street and Honolulu Harbor. Included in the area are the Financial, Kukui and Chinatown districts, and the Aloha Tower-Honolulu Harbor area."

In case you were wondering, Waikiki is generally bounded by the Ala Wai Canal, the shoreline and Kapahulu Avenue and includes the Ala Wai Golf Course, Ala Wai School and Ala Wai Park.