City officials are finally taking positive steps to reopen the shuttered restrooms at the Natatorium, which were closed indefinitely despite a recent upgrade that cost millions of dollars.

City parks and recreation chief Les Chang said he will re-open the facilities once he confirms they are safe to use.

That's good news.

As The Advertiser's Bureaucracy Buster columnist Robbie Dingeman brought to light, the city spent $4.4 million in 2000 under former Mayor Jeremy Harris on renovations to the memorial, most notably to the arch, the bleachers and the bathrooms.

But instead of an open set of clean restrooms, beachgoers are forced to use a set of portable toilets that cost the city $2,000 a month to rent. That cost has accumulated in the two years that the restrooms have been closed. Cracked plaster in the ceiling made the restrooms unusable.

The prospect of any change appeared dim last year when Mayor Mufi Hannemann halted any further renovations to the Natatorium, which was seen as a symbol of the lavish public spending by Harris. You remember, the "need to have" versus "nice to have."

Thankfully, the restrooms have been deemed a "need to have." And, rightly so.

Eugene Lee, acting director of Honolulu's Department of Design and Construction, said the closed restrooms were structurally sound when last checked. So things are looking up.

Once the way is clear — and that should be soon — the restrooms should be opened up quickly.

These facilities have been sitting idle for two years, and that's far too long to be waiting for some relief. We've already invested in the upgrades and clearly the need is there.

Now it's up to the city to make it happen.