HONOLULU -- The city began replacing some benches at bus stops with stools to make it more difficult for the homeless to set up camp there.

Students said a couple of homeless people used to sleep at this bus stop in front of McKinley High School on King Street all the time.

"Sometimes they smelled, and we would just walk by and they would stare at us," McKinley High sophomore Amber Nunn said.

"It was kind of scary and we would walk by and they would just start talking to us and it made me not really want to walk over here. It was kind of antagonizing and intimidating," McKinley High junior Azam Nunn said.

"We're kind of afraid of sitting next to them or something," McKinley High freshman Daniel Austria said.

Then several weeks ago, the city took out a couple of large benches that used to be here and replaced them with six concrete stools and one bench that's not under the shade of the bus shelter.

A city spokesman said the city is replacing some benches at bus stops around Honolulu in response to complaints from bus riders about homeless people sleeping at them. Outside McKinley High School students shared their thoughts.

"It's having an impact so far to me. I haven't seen that many homeless people over here ever since this change. So, hopefully it will keep on improving the problem," one student said.

At King and Kaheka streets, the city replaced benches with these stools and replaced a large covered bus stop with a single bench that's less attractive to the homeless.

But are not far away, they're right across the street in a park.

The downtown neighborhood board is asking the city to install stools along Fort Street Mall, in addition to benches that the city put in 16 years ago.

"These benches were installed to make it more difficult for the homeless to sleep here. Take a look, with this armrest right in the middle, t is not very comfortable if you want to lie down and sleep," the city spokesman said.