Rail has failed nearly every test.
The city’s dramatic confession that it is up to $700 million short of funds to build rail is yet another reason to halt this project now before it is really too late and we plunge over the fiscal cliff.
We need a moratorium on further construction of rail to provide a chance to re-evaluate the possibilities.
It is not too late to convert this project to something useful, such as elevated lanes for express bus, carpool and maybe tolls to help pay for it (whereby the actual users pay for it). They are called HOT Lanes and are growing in popularity nationwide. Let’s step back, take a breath and investigate.
Finances are just one of many problems with rail, which was sold to the public with a bag of lies about traffic reduction, job creation, ridership, transit-oriented development (TOD), citizen participation, on-time, on-budget, etc. None of these promises are likely to happen in any significant way.
Take for example the latest ploy to fool the public, TOD, which is supposed to concentrate dense housing near stations. It’s the only big argument for rail the city has left after all their other promises went bust.
The most recent failure of this TOD theory is found at the proposed Ho‘opili project near Kapolei, which would have two rail stations, each with about 130 acres within the quarter-mile radius, ideal for TOD walk-to-the-station housing. Do the math: 260 acres of open land available for TOD densities and what do the developers propose? Only 40 acres designated for high density!
The rest of their 12,000-home project is for profitable, expensive housing, slap-it-up wooden McMansions and townhouses at low and medium density, too far from stations to attract riders. This was the acid test for TOD and it failed, even though the outrageous proposal to urbanize Oahu’s best farmlands was unanimously approved by the city’s developer-packed Planning Commission and is heading for likely approval at our rubber-stamp City Council.
TOD plans for the other 19 stations are vague and lack any enforcement.
Enough already — we don’t need or want this absurd rail project. At best, according to the city’s own environmental impact statement figures, it would only increase transit ridership from the current 5 percent using the bus to 7 percent with combined bus and rail — an insignificant amount, not worth $6 billion or $7 billion.
This money could be better spent on real solutions, of which there are many.
In its defense, the city trots out old lies about BRT (bus rapid transit), claiming an elevated structure for bus would require too many on-ramps, which is not true, and arguing that federal funds would not be available for bus. Well, let’s find out by asking the Federal Transit Administration about transferring money. Some claim the transfer would be easy and might include a bonus for bus purchase.
Public opinion has never been strong for rail, despite several dubious elections manipulated by big money and lies that seemed to give this train a green light. The public is fed up and getting increasingly disgusted.
When the city goes to the state Legislature this month with hat in hand asking for an extension of the general excise tax surcharge, there is a perfect opportunity for our government to say "No thanks. We are done with rail; let’s look at a better alternative. Halt construction now."
