Kailua Beach now a safety risk

Kailua welcomes visitors. However, our public infrastructure is overwhelmed and limiting commercial activity at Kailua Beach Park is a necessary step to ensure public safety.

For years, illegal commercial activity has proliferated and the situation has deteriorated. Offshore islands have been inundated by hundreds of kayakers, and protected habitats trampled. Visitors are often given no safety instruction or supervision by illegal watersports renters, and taxpayers pay for emergency rescues that now occur several times a week.

Even more concerning is that beach park traffic can back up for hours, dangerously impeding emergency access for fire trucks and ambulances, and blocking in residents simply trying to leave their homes.

The city says it cannot begin properly regulating commercial activity for at least three years while plans are studied. The community cannot wait that long — which is why in a recent survey 89 percent of Kailua residents support restricting commercial activity at Kailua Beach today.

Public safety is at risk.

Rep. Chris Lee
Kailua, Waimanalo

There are many ways to fix traffic

I think rail may be a good leap forward but maybe not just now.

If you want to ease congestion on the freeway, start at the problem in the urban environment.

Use quality asphalt and proper subsurface preparation to hold those 60,000-pound trucks.

Add smarter and coordinated traffic lights, and move some of the bus stops off the streets so one lane isn’t jammed, block after block after block after block.

Those are just some of the great ideas out there — a freight train full of them, if you look.

Five billion dollars would pay for all of that and then some.

Bob Dupuis
Kaimuki

Rail is too costly for tiny Oahu

I agree that great leaders are those who can see beyond the horizon ("Cayetano lacks vision to lead city," Star-Advertiser, Letters, July 19).

Fortunately, among the few visionaries we have is former Gov. Ben Cayetano.

Cayetano’s long-term vision recognizes the fiscal realities of the proposed rail project and the fact that it will not bring any significant traffic relief, nor will it deliver the number of local jobs promised.

He is also very disturbed by the city’s obstinate refusal to consider less costly and better alternatives to rail.

No other place on the planet the size of Oahu has ever considered building a heavy-rail system costing $5.26 billion-plus for a 20-mile ride.

How can we, with such a small economic base, billions in federally mandated sewer upgrades and Third World roads, afford it?

Cayetano is looking well beyond the horizon and sees the clouds gathering for a big storm, should the rail project go forth as proposed.

Ursula Retherford
Kailua

Don’t delay rail more decades

Why is anyone arguing about former Gov. Ben Cayetano’s transportation plans?

If elected, Cayetano will spend his first year or two killing rail, then it is back to square minus 20 years, or more likely minus 30 years, in the political, transportation planning and completion cycle (10 to 20 years for politics and planning plus 10 years for implementation).

Just look at the past four political and planning cycles: Frank Fasi’s first try in the 1980s, Frank’s second try in 1990s, Jeremy Harris’ unpopular bus rapid transit in 2000s and our current plan in 2010s.

The end of cheap energy is here and the costs for everything will only increase. Thus, any real alternative 20 or 30 years in the future will have equal or greater costs to the current rail system and will likely deliver less.

If Honolulu voters want to have no transportation change for the next 20 to 30 years, then vote for Cayetano.

After 46 years of gridlock, let’s improve our transportation system now!

Sam Gillie
Hawaii Kai