Because we do not have the funding to build rail to Ala Moana Center, many are suggesting the need for a shorter route that can provide a useful system — including our mayor, some Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation board members, City Council members, other politicians and various media voices.
The situation is a blessing in disguise, allowing time to update projections on operating costs, climate change impacts, ridership and more. It puts new focus on how far the tracks should extend and how to best continue travel service from an alternative terminus. We believe that five different endpoints, which have yet been properly studied, should be considered: Aloha Tower, Chinatown, Kalihi, Middle Street and Lagoon Drive.
Middle Street and Lagoon Drive are ideal transfer terminals, in good position to work together sharing the passenger load. Travelers step off the train at the multimodal station, ride escalators to transfer platforms, board express vehicles, then sit down for direct rides to their destinations. Express routes along North King Street, Dillingham Boulevard and Nimitz Highway can take full advantage of our existing roads, which can be improved to enhance traffic flow, including some dedicated lanes and synchronized traffic signals. These routes can provide direct service to various destinations, including Downtown, University of Hawaii-Manoa, Ala Moana and Waikiki.
This is not a proposal to “stop rail” or advocate for automobiles. It is a plan to increase the ridership and effectiveness of mass transit. Our major rush-hour traffic problem is along the H-1 freeway, not on streets in the urban center, which have sufficient capacity to handle express buses. Much to its credit, the rail can offer some relief by giving H-1 drivers an alternative way to reach the edge of town, then transfer to express buses and similar vehicles.
The multimodal alternative fulfills the project’s original goals at a far lower construction cost without requiring further tax increases, and it could begin within two years. It also has the flexibility to incorporate new transportation technologies and routes, including electric autonomous vehicles of various sizes and routes that can be modified to meet demand.
If rail usage is high and funding can be secured, future extension of elevated rail is always an option, but expansion beyond Middle Street is not necessary or desirable at this time and faces enormous problems of funding, construction and aesthetics, which would only add further delays. Our downtown would be marred by an elevated structure blocking views of the waterfront and Aloha Tower, and does not have a good location for a bus transfer station. Chinatown has similar issues, and extension to Kalihi, near the Oahu jail, is likewise unneeded. Infrastructure challenges along Dillingham Boulevard have made these options extremely difficult. Fortunately, no contracts have been issued for construction beyond Middle Street, so no work need be done there unless the studies warrant it.
Nearly everyone wants to see rail completed with the least expense to gain maximum benefit from our $12.4 billion investment. Our goal should be creating the best multimodal transportation system with the largest total ridership, rather than focusing solely on rail. There is an urgent need to analyze the options now to get the system up and running as soon as possible within the existing budget to provide relief for Leeward travelers.
The Federal Transit Administration is waiting for Honolulu’s updated financial plan at the end of this year, and by all accounts, is fed up and deeply embarrassed by our prolonged problems. In 2016 the FTA said Oahu could “reduce the scope of the Project … perhaps (with) an interim terminus.” It will surely show support by issuing remaining funds when a reasonable plan is presented.
Leslie Inouye, Jeremy Lam and Didi Leong, along with co-member Stanford Masui, submitted this on behalf of RailSOS (website at railsos.org; email at info@railsos.org).
