Pay attention when a judge uses exclamation points

The thing to remember about federal District Court judges, besides that they are appointed for life, is that they spend their lives researching the law and the reason for the law.

As an aside, you might also note that federal judges are not inclined to use exclamation points in their written messages. "Cease and desist" is understood without shouting punctuation.

So when the chief of the Hawaii federal District Court, Susan Oki Mollway, first takes note of a serious flaw in how the city is planning its massive heavy rail system, it just makes sense to pay attention.

In last week’s letter to the city and the federal government, Mollway pointed to the Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation’s most glaring mistake. It does not go where it is supposed to go.

"The project’s proposed rail route does not go anywhere near the UH-Manoa campus. Instead it goes to the Ala Moana Shopping Center!" Mollway wrote.

The city’s own environmental impact state written this May to evaluate the proposed Beretania Tunnel option says "HART is to provide high-capacity rapid transit in the highly congested east-west transportation corridor between Kapolei and UH Manoa, as specified in the Oahu Regional Transportation Plan."

Instead the rail is planned to run from one "transit-oriented development" in the west to another TOD in the east.

University of Hawaii law professor Randy Roth contends that Mollway’s letter, while being non-binding on the current federal law suit regarding rail, should be considered a red flag.

"She says the current project is ‘neither prudent nor feasible,’" Roth said.

"It is a way of saying that under the law, you can’t build this project. It is worded obviously and is very sharp. The exclamation mark speaks volumes," Roth said in an interview.

Roth is part of a group of citizens, including former Gov. Ben Cayetano, who are suing in federal court to stop the project.

Mollway is the second federal district judge in Hawaii to protest the current rail plan because it goes within 40 feet of the downtown federal building and there is a fear terrorists could detonate a bomb in a train going by the building.

Transit officials say in response that the elevated rail section near the Prince Kuhio building will be shielded. Unspoken is the architectural fear that the security plan will add to the hulking leviathan image of the train’s station plans.

The Beretania Tunnel alternative offers a real response to bringing the train to UH-Manoa where increased transit ridership and fewer car trips would be a good idea.

There are two points against it.

First, it would likely add nearly a billion dollars to the project. With the project already coming in at more than $5 billion, a 20 percent increase is a serious liability.

And the current project is already going to chew up much of Dillingham Boulevard and Nimitz Highway before diving into the promised land of Kakaako, so adding Beretania Street to the hit list just increases the looming construction traffic nightmare.

The second reason, however, is not stated, but just as real. If the train doesn’t go through Kakaako and end at Ala Moana, it obviates the need for the transit-oriented development festival planned for Kakaako.

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Richard Borreca writes on politics on Sundays, Tuesdays and Fridays. Reach him at rborreca@staradvertiser.com.