ZipMobiles should be replaced quickly

Tuesday’s traffic catastrophe was a disaster waiting to happen.

It has been known that only one of the ZipMobiles had been in running condition, since the state began cannibalizing the second unit for parts after it broke down.

It is unacceptable that the state gambles on something that commuters depend on every weekday.

The reason we bought two Zip-Mobiles was so the second unit could immediately take over when the other was down.

We pay taxes to make sure that there is good governance, not idiotic decisions to play Russian roulette.

The governor, the Legislature and the city need to do two things right now. First, make sure that the ZipMobiles are replaced quickly, as they are approaching the end of their expected life-span. Second, get the rail transit project on track.

Unfortunately, looking at the government’s track record, I do not think either will be completed on time or without problems.

Jon Shimamoto
Mililani

Hold next meeting for rail in Kapolei

It’s just after 7 p.m. on Tuesday. H-1 commuters have experienced one of the worst traffic messes in memory.

The people who "sounded off" about rail at the March 30 meeting should have been on H-1 westbound this evening ("Citizens sound off against rail," Star-Advertiser, March 31).

The mayor should schedule another rail meeting, this one in Kapolei, within the next week. To attend, the East and Windward Oahu and downtown anti-rail people would have to deal with the horrendous traffic West and Central Oahu commuters endure every workday.Then, surprise! People would be crying to have the rail extended into their communities. Once that decision is made, we would hear from fewer people who complain that "the rail doesn’t go anywhere" (they need to go).

Tony Turbeville
Punchbowl

Contraflow 2 lanes of freeway traffic

Well, Tuesday was the height of it all.

Cars idling for hours, inching westward. Three hours to get to Kapolei. Two broken ZipperLane machines. Citizens of Oahu putting up with road construction, rail construction, business loss and disruption, rail-cost overruns, looming tax increases and, to put it bluntly, pure mayhem.

A few year ago, state Sen. Fred Hemmings and I, as vice chairman of the Kailua Neighborhood Board, asked the state Department of Transportation to do a one-day test: Contraflow one additional lane into town.

Well, on that one day traffic flowed very smoothly through both tunnels and at steady speeds all the way to downtown.

DOT should contraflow two additional H-1 lanes into town, thereby adding two more lanes during the morning peak period. Do the same for the afternoon commute going west.

Forget those machines.

Bob Vieira
Pauoa Valley

Cops seemed to do little during crisis

There appears to be no coordination or supervision for lane closures in the Aiea/Pearl City area.

I would think that the powers that be would talk to each other and, if they were shutting down lanes on H-1, then they would not shut down lanes on Kamehameha Highway for non-emergency work and vice versa. Needless to say, massive traffic jams result.

What makes it more frustrating is at several locations, police officers in cars were sitting on the side of the roads and freeway, just observing these huge traffic jams and not getting out to direct traffic.

Earl Batteen
Aiea

DOT needs better plan for West Oahu

As a homeowner and resident of West Oahu for more than 30 years, I have spent countless hours of my day on the freeway and highways trying to deal with the daily challenges of the Westside traffic commute. I definitely don’t see it getting any better.

Is the state Department of Transportation coming up with a plan to help the Westside commuters? As a West Oahu commuter sitting in traffic for an hour or more every morning and another hour or more every afternoon, I honestly don’t feel, see or believe it.

What is the DOT doing for Westside commuters to deal with the present rail project, countless construction projects, ZipperLane issues, large vehicle issues and more? DOT had plans "to beat the back-to-school jam." What are the DOT plans "to beat the Westside traffic frustration"?

Help us out!

Roxanne Kipilii
Ewa Beach

Limit total number of cars on Oahu

We desperately need to put a limit on the number of cars allowed on Oahu.

Friends and families can learn to share rides.

If things continue as they are, we will not be able to get out of our driveway.

Mary Moore
Kailua

‘Perfect right’ for PV users has limits

Marilyn Kennedy said, "Any citizen has a perfect right to use solar panels without onerous unjustified fees and delayed permits" ("Rooftop solar here to stay," Star-Advertiser, Letters, April 1).

I think she is missing an important point. While every citizen has the "perfect right" to install solar panels in compliance with local building codes, interconnection with the public utility’s grid affects the quality, reliability and cost of power of everyone on that grid.

By law, the utility must be fair to all its customers. Ultimately, the Public Utilities Commission is the final arbiter on requirements for PV interconnection. PV users are free to go off the grid if they believe the conditions established by the PUC are unfair. That’s the extent of their "perfect right."

James B. Young
St. Louis Heights