Editorial: At long last, rail gets ready to roll

The city won’t get a second chance to make a good first impression. June 30 will be that first chance to get its rail project off to an impressive start.

That will be opening day for the first 10 miles of Oahu’s $10 billion elevated rail system, the state’s largest-ever public works project. The agency handling construction, Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation (HART), has been grappling with persistent problems and cost overruns for years.

Last week the sun peeked through the dark clouds, signaling the imperative to seize on that optimism and build on it.

Five days of free rides on the 10-mile segment, from East Kapolei to the Aloha Stadium station, will give residents here their first taste of rail, a system that, Mayor Rick Blangiardi promised on Wednesday, will be both efficient and effective.

Assuming that’s what they do experience, riders will then be on board, literally and figuratively, with the project as it completes construction on the current route ending at South and Halekauwila streets, and pushes through to future phases. That’s critical.

Even more immediately, the public needs to engage in discussions about transit-oriented development (TOD) plans, such as Tuesday’s meeting for the zone surrounding the stadium station in Halawa. That’s set for 5:30 p.m. in the Aiea Elementary School cafeteria.

Replacement of the soon-to-be demolished stadium and the development around it is an enormous undertaking, but capitalizing on the opportunity to add needed affordable housing is one of the benefits of the rail system. This property surrounding the stadium is one of 21 stations ultimately being planned as residential and commercial hubs.

The Halawa TOD development will be a challenging planning exercise, with a mixed-use complex adjacent to a new stadium part of the picture. But the people who live nearby and those who want to use the rail need to weigh in with ideas of how to make the most of it.

This is the time for community leaders to advocate both for inclusion of affordable housing and for an optimal integration of rail and bus systems. For the first few years (rail’s extension to Middle Street is expected to take until 2025), Halawa will be the farthest townbound terminus, so bus connections from there to destinations beyond need to be smooth.

Part of making the transitions as seamless as possible will be the use of the HOLO card, a fare payment card that riders will have to get before the launch. On June 30, the system will open to riders at 2 p.m.; stations will close at 6 p.m. on Day One. For those first four hours, the fare gates will be open, and no card will be needed.

But for the remainder of the free-ride promotion through the Fourth of July holiday, the card will be required to get through the fare gates, although no fare will be charged.

After that, starting July 5, the regular hours of operation, with the $3 single fare, will commence: 8 a.m.-7 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, and 5 a.m.-7 p.m. Monday and Tuesday (and all weekdays).

There are still many hurdles to clear before HART contractors finish the vexing section of construction through the Dillingham Boulevard corridor, before enough park-and-ride facilities are in place to serve potential riders, before private partners can be lined up to help riders shuttle between businesses and rail stations.

But this initial curtain-raiser is truly a reason to celebrate. The mood at last week’s announcement was exultant, and for good reason. The funding of the current project dates to 2011, but rail has been on Honolulu’s mind for much longer.

Roger Morton is director of the city Department of Transportation Services, which will oversee the operation and maintenance budget, set at $94 million for Year One. Morton remembered a rail system connecting the West Side to downtown first appeared on planning maps in 1968.

In the intervening years, the public has found the prospect of rail more of a roller coaster ride than a smooth alternative to congested freeway lanes. A series of construction delays and massive cost overruns has roughly doubled the final price, to the current projected total topping $10 billion.

That’s why success at this stage, starting June 30, is so crucial. The riders need to see that the system can work well and fulfill its potential within a multimodal transit system for Oahu.

“People are going to be surprised at the efficiency of it, the effectiveness of it,” Blangiardi said, describing rail as a “transformative” project.

Now’s the time to prove the mayor right, on all counts.

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How to ride the rail

The June 30 opening of the first segment of the rail system is still weeks away, but it’s not too soon to get the system smart card for fare payment, the HOLO card.

In addition to the regular $3-per-ride rate, there are discounted passes available, too. Details on the plans on where to get and pre-load cash on the card, are online (holocard.net/where-to-obtain-load-a-card).