Alternate rail routes up for debate
One plan calls for a rail line to UH-Manoa; the second would run through Salt Lake
Mayor Mufi Hannemann's already-embattled plan for rail transit was expected to hit a bumpy road today before the City Council.
Council members are debating two alternative proposals on today's Council agenda, which could mean an uphill climb for the mayor's proposal.
"It definitely raises a question. We all need to understand what the implications are," said Councilman Todd Apo.
The mayor is advocating for a 20-mile first segment to run from East Kapolei at the University of Hawaii-West Oahu to Ala Moana Center at a cost of $3.8 billion.
Councilmen Donovan Dela Cruz and Charles Djou, however, are continuing to push for a route that ends at UH-Manoa. Their proposal would have the west end of the route start at Fort Weaver Road and end at the Manoa campus.
"If you take the politics out of it and take a common-sense approach, anyone who drives to town from Central Oahu or the west side of the island knows that when UH (Manoa) is in recess, the traffic is much lighter -- significantly," Dela Cruz said.
The second proposal comes from Councilman Romy Cachola, who wants an alternate route that runs through Salt Lake instead of passing by Pearl Harbor, Hickam Air Force Base and the airport. Salt Lake is part of Cachola's district.
Four councilmen -- Apo, Nestor Garcia, Gary Okino and Rod Tam -- approved the mayor's route when it came before a joint committee hearing last week.
Apo said any alternate proposal would have to pass two key financial tests for him: federal government cost-effectiveness criteria and the Council's requirements that the first segment be paid with federal funds and the state general excise tax surcharge.
"I still believe a majority of the Council support ... rail for the island," said Apo, who noted that he believes the Council today will move along a proposal for a first segment of the rail line.
Hannemann's press secretary Bill Brennan said the administration believes the mayor's proposal meets federal financial parameters and "also makes the most sense for a first route."
But getting a fifth member on the nine-member Council to support moving the legislation out of the Council today is apparently proving to be difficult as the mayor and his people conducted last-minute, behind-the-scenes lobbying.
Djou, Dela Cruz and Councilwoman Ann Kobayashi said trying to persuade them to support a route that does not go to the Manoa campus is not easy.
"We had a town meeting on Saturday in Manoa and most people there wanted the fixed guideway system to go to the university campus because it would help traffic in that area," said Kobayashi, who supports the Dela-Cruz/Djou proposal, but says she is open to other options from the administration.
Cachola, who could not be reached for comment, is leading the charge for the route to include Salt Lake, which the administration has said is also a cost-effective segment.