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Public transportation should be equitable and efficient.
The limitations of our existing public roads and the dependence on the automobile are barriers to public transportation equity and efficiency.
Another mode of public transportation is needed.
Rail will meet that need.
The oppressive gridlock experienced daily by the people of the Waianae Coast — where the world’s largest Native Hawaiian community resides — demonstrates that currently public transportation is neither equitable nor efficient. Congestion on the Waianae Coast is exacerbated by its one-way-in, oneway-out corridor.
The Kamaki Kanahele ohana from Waianae Valley, commuting by automobile to work in Waikiki in peak traffic, endures up to 2.5 hours on the road each way. Gridlock increases exponentially when there is an auto accident or breakdown of the Zipper lane equipment.
To ensure that she has a seat on the bus, a Hawaiian Homelands resident in Maili catches a 4 a.m. bus to Makaha first and then turns around to make her trip into town for work.
The status quo severely compromises the quality of life for West Oahu residents who must travel to the primary urban center to work.
A challenging picture for efficient transportation emerges as we look to the future, with several planned developments within the urban-growth boundary.
The Ho‘opili project is expected to add 11,750 homes within the next 20 years.
Development in Koa Ridge is slated to add 3,500 new homes.
In Kakaako, 16 projects with more than 5,000 residential units are projected to be built during the next two to five years.
The Hawaii Community Development Authority’s Kalaeloa Master Plan projects 6,352 new residential units, and the Hawaii Housing Finance and Development Corp. plans 3,722 housing units by 2017.
Makaiwa Hills has been approved for about 4,300 residential units.
Future growth also will likely come from University of Hawaii-West Oahu’s approximately 300 acres of surplus lands.
The Oahu General Plan states that: "An efficient transportation system is essential to the life and economic productivity of a community." In this picture of the future, public transportation equity or efficiency cannot exist without an efficient mode of public transportation.
Rail is that efficient transportation mode.
During peak travel times, the elevated rail system will move about 800 passengers in a four-car train every five minutes, uninterrupted by ground traffic. Because the rail line will pass through Oahu’s most densely populated corridor, the system will serve nearly 70 percent of Oahu’s residents and more than 80 percent of our island’s working people. In 2030 dollars, it is estimated that the operational expense per passenger mile will be 43 cents for rail compared with 80 cents for the bus.
Just as artists do, we must use imagination, and to integrate all parts of the creation into a harmonious whole.
Our vision for the future is that the rail system will create public transportation harmony on Oahu. It will link UH-Manoa, UH-West Oahu, Leeward Community College, Honolulu Community College and Hawaii Pacific University to expand student course selection, address parking issues and provide options for faculty housing.
Our wish for our mo‘opuna (grandchildren) is that the rail network will provide public transportation equity and efficiency also to the communities of the Waianae Coast from Kahe Point to Kaena, Salt Lake, Central Oahu, Windward and East Honolulu.
O Ke Akua, E olulu malama na po‘e Hawaii nei. Dear Creator, please care for Hawaii’s people.
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