Anti-rail transit voices say, “I told you so,” because the project is over budget and behind schedule. But overruns partly come from lawsuits that delayed the project. We could have built the project for less during the recent construction slump.

Now a lawsuit is threatened regarding building the rail in a flood zone. The rail is 25 feet or more above ground. Floods are a greater danger on the ground than to rail.

Others say stop rail at Middle Street. Then their prediction that no one will ride will come true. Commuters will not want to ride the train just to catch a bus in the most congested traffic on the island.

We’ll never get back the advantages of building five years ago, but we can get this project going and avoid the costs of paying back the federal government and ripping down the existing structure, which would leave us with nothing.

Thomas Koenig

Mililani

Rail surprises are alarming

The article about the Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation and Hawaiian Electric Co. was alarming (“Advisers brushed off issue over utility lines,” Star-Advertiser, May 1).

It proves beyond doubt there was insufficient planning and problem-resolution before construction.

What additional issues can we expect, such as possible rights of way and eminent domain? Surely there will be more issues, with resulting cost overruns. It’s time to take stock.

Paul Miller

Kaneohe

Scott has a way of enlightening

Mahalo to Susan Scott for her Monday reports on God’s creatures thriving in our great Pacific Ocean that surrounds our paradise home.

She has such a gentle way of informing, educating and, yes, when she must, even shining a light on ignorance and arrogance, as she did this week (“Creatures show that gender is neither rigid nor constant,” Star-Advertiser, Ocean Watch, May 2).

Mark Yasuhara

Aiea

Helmets would protect surfers

The World Surf League should require that competitors wear helmets at Oahu’s Pipeline, Tahiti’s Teahupoo and Australia’s The Box.

Jeremy Flores won the Teahupoo contest last year while wearing a helmet. Top pro Owen Wright may never surf again following a head injury he sustained while surfing Pipeline last year.

A helmet may not have prevented Wright’s injury. But pro surfer Evan Geiselman’s similar, near-fatal injury at Pipe last winter would almost certainly have been less severe, or entirely prevented, had he been wearing a helmet.

“It’s not debatable: Wearing a helmet makes surfing safer,” Dr. David Gunn told me recently. He is a surfer and chief of emergency medicine at Queens General Hospital in Canada.

Eesha Williams

Dummerston, Vt.

Construction a threat to tourism

“Don’t shun tourism, HTA tells isle residents,” said a headline in the paper (Star-Advertiser, April 26).

It appears that the Hawaii Tourism Authority wants local residents to be kind to tourists. What is HTA talking about? I consider this an insult to local people. I think we all know who is not kind to tourists, and it is not the people.

Is HTA afraid that the island is slowly going down the drain because of excessive construction and other major shortcomings for a once-beautiful island that depends on tourism?

This construction hype is like a disease. There are reasonable people who would do something about it, but I guess they don’t exist in Honolulu.

Joanna Jacobs

Hawaii Kai

Tourists on bikes posing a danger

I’m glad our Japanese tourists enjoy Hawaii. But too many of them who rent bicycles while visiting Kailua ignore the marked bicycle lanes on the street and ride their bicycles on the sidewalk.

The vendors who supply the bikes should emphasize that they should ride only in the bike lanes. If they want to go on a sidewalk, then they should dismount and walk their bikes like all other pedestrians.

They are more than a nuisance riding on the sidewalk. They’re a real danger.

Lunsford Phillips

Kailua

Raids on Kauai set good example

I was surprised by the recent news coverage showing the speed and efficiency of the state Department of Land and Natural Resources in removing illegal campers from the Na Pali coastline.

Campers were shown shackled in handcuffs and their belongings swiftly removed from the premises. We need DLNR to police the streets of Honolulu.

Driving around town I noticed countless ramshackle tents off Ala Moana Boulevard and also by Honolulu Community College.

If I want to camp legally at a designated campground on Oahu, I have to spend $12 a day and supply my own food. But if I want to camp anywhere in Honolulu, I can pitch my tent on a sidewalk without paying a dime — and stay as long as I want.

Plus, I can walk over to a nearby food kitchen and eat for free.

No wonder we have a homeless problem.

Is it too hard for our legislators to pass a bill making it illegal to pitch a tent anywhere but on a designated campsite?

Peter Rucci

Waialae Nui Ridge

Sanders fans must be practical

Independent supporters of U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders might well make a wise shift to join the Democratic Party, so that their voices will be heard as a major part of the platform of the Democratic Party at the convention in Philadelphia.

Sanders is an independent who joined the Democratic Party to make his voice heard. His ideas for a “people’s revolution” have inspired millions of independents who have rallied behind him.

Being an independent voter, as I once was, provides a certain feeling of freedom. However, it does not have much impact on our two-party system.

The future of this nation, with a government that is of, by and for the people, is so critically at stake this November. Independents who join and vote as progressive Democrats can be a powerful force in shaping our future.

Mele Welte

Hawaii Kai

City has too many irons in the fire

Having returned from the Ala Moana Park Project meeting at the McCoy Pavilion, I would like to share a lesson from my father:

“Once you start a job, no matter how long it takes or how hard it is, finish that job and then move on to the next job.”

The proposed Ala Moana project could cost us an estimated $20 million, according to members of the engineering group at the meeting.

As with most projects, this is only a guess.

How can the mayor and city expect the patient citizens of Honolulu to fund yet another multimillion-dollar project before we get current jobs done?

We need to fix the homeless situation, rail transit and the condition of beaches and waters due to pollution and erosion. Let’s get these jobs done first.

Kathryn Henski

Kapahulu