Letter: Rail project good fit for urban Honolulu

I disagree with Scott Foster that rail construction should be paused at Middle Street (“Robbins should pause rail transit at Middle Street, then take stock,” Star-Advertiser, Island Voices, Feb. 6).

Foster said, “My organization, Hawaii Advocates For Consumer Rights (AFCR), has been against this rail project from day one.”

It sounded as if he has been part of the groups that used legal and political tactics to force construction delays that have significantly driven up the cost of the project through no fault of the Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation or the contractors. And some contracts on the preparation of the Dillingham corridor have already been let. Any pause at Middle Street will simply drive up costs more, due to delay.

My support for rail is not complicated. I have experienced the great improvement that rail brings to the cities that have it. The roughly two-mile-wide and 24-mile-long urban corridor where more than half of Hawaii’s people live is an ideal layout for the linear rail system that the voters approved.

Walker Kelley

Hawaii Kai

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