Start planning for TOD at Pearlridge now

Honolulu is wasting valuable time by not planning on making rail useful and meaningful once it is built.

Nowhere is this lack of planning more evident than the future Pearlridge rail station transit-oriented development (TOD) area.

This area is going to need a tremendous amount of infrastructure to meet the vision of the 2014 Aiea-Pearl City Neighborhood TOD Plan — and to accommodate the huge increase in traffic and pedestrian dangers resulting from condos and shopping areas in the Kamehameha Drive-In development project, which was approved by the City Council in 2014.

The Pearlridge TOD population is going to nearly double in an area that has already has huge traffic issues and multiple recent pedestrian fatalities.

The City Council and Robertson Properties — owner of the project slated for the old drive-in site — did not logically think through pedestrian flow and safety during the zoning hearings. One of their plans for pedestrian safety is to put in a stop light for a pedestrian walkway on the street between the project and Pearlridge mall. Local residents know this isn’t going to work as this is a dangerous road today and is only going to get worse as the site is developed.

Worse yet, it looked as though Robertson Properties was truly interested in working with Aiea residents on making this a win-win development — but after it won its zoning request, has been conspicuously absent from local neighborhood meetings and has not been heard from for the last year.

Is it hopeless? Not at all. Just think if we extended the Pearlridge monorail to the "drive-in" and Pearlridge TOD train station.

Just think if a pedestrian overpass was built from the "drive-in" to Pearlridge mall, and then from the mall to Koauka Loop where more than 3,000 people live in a very compact area. And while we’re at it, how about a pedestrian/ biking overpass from the rail station to the Pearl Harbor bike path and Pearl Kai mall? This would tremendously decrease the number of pedestrians crossing roads; make the Pearlridge TOD area a more pleasant place to live, work and play in; and decrease traffic by encouraging people to use the pedestrian pass-ways instead of autos.

Would this be expensive? Yes. How much would it cost? Nobody knows.

How can we get funding to develop a Pearlridge TOD pedestrian plan? We are in luck: As part of the zoning decision for its project, Robertson Properties owes the city $1 million to support studies or projects to improve local infrastructure. The city should use this funding to develop a plan with cost estimates.

The city also needs to build a Pearlridge coalition with Robertson Properties, Pearlridge Center, Pearl Kai mall and local condo associations, as well as our federal representatives. If the City Council is too busy to do all this, it could enlist the aid of the Aiea Neighborhood Board.

Once we know how much it costs, we could then pursue funding.

Should we raise Hawaii’s taxes? No. This project sells very well as an urban improvement test project for which there are a number of programs that might consider funding.

In sum: Pearlridge TOD pedestrian planning is needed, doable and nothing is stopping us from starting today to make Hawaii a better place to live.

This doesn’t need the City Council to pass any laws; we just need leadership to start this planning and the rest will fall in place.