Government has to see that public facilities serve their intended purpose, but when it has the effect of displacing the needy, this rational duty takes on an awkward tinge.

This happens whenever homeless families are relocated to shelters to make beaches generally open to the public.

It's happened again with the removal of benches from O'ahu bus stops. City staffers are installing concrete stools in place of the benches, which have been used by the homeless as a place to sleep.

This is certainly not a problem unique to Hawai'i. In Ohio, a federal judge ruled this week that homeless people who register to vote may list benches and other outdoor spots as residences on their forms. But using bus stops as shelters, even if commonplace, is no solution to Hawai'i's homeless crisis.

The city is right to restore utility to the bus stops, enabling elders and other riders to rest while waiting for their ride. The $11,000 for installing 55 stools at 12 bus stops is money well spent.

Allowing vagrants to take over benches not only deprives bus riders of places to sit, it can be intimidating, discouraging some from using the bus. And with fluctuations in gas prices and overall economic weaknesses, more people are riding TheBus, according to the city. Budget-conscious families relying on the bus should be able to wait for one without anxiety.

Deterring the homeless from unfairly occupying seating is necessary to serve the bus system's users. But it does not erase the city's responsibility to help find safe shelter for needy people left without a roof over their heads.

That's a critically important, but separate, task.