Sierra Club
report: Isles rank
high and low

State rankings put Hawaii 3rd
in transportation and 8th in land
use, but 40th in protecting open
space, the environmental
group says

By Lori Tighe
Star-Bulletin

Hawaii ranked among the top 10 states in the nation for both transportation and planning its urban sprawl, but among the worst for open-space protection, according to a national Sierra Club report to be released today.

Bureaucrats applauded the rankings, and environmentalists booed them, saying Hawaii has never been more vulnerable to sprawl.

The Sierra Club's second annual sprawl report rated all 50 states and measured progress in four categories. Hawaii ranked No. 3. in transportation; No. 8. in land-use planning; No. 19 in community revitalization; and No. 40 for open-space protection.

The transportation ranking pleased Mayor Jeremy Harris, who said, "That's great. I'm happy to hear that." However, he said it didn't surprise him.

Hawaii's bus system was voted the best in the country several years ago, and the city has expanded to 525 buses since.

"We've also added a new bus rapid-transit route from Pearlridge to downtown to the University of Hawaii called the City Express. Every seven minutes the Express bus comes by. We have 6,000 to 7,000 people riding it a day. It's a great new service," the mayor said.

Audubon lobbyist Maile Bay said Hawaii's high rankings were "a sad commentary on the other states."

"In Hawaii, we have no transportation between our hubs and tourist destinations," she said. "It's all cars."

David Blane, director of the State Office of Planning, said about Hawaii's No. 8 ranking in land-use planning, "I think that's excellent compared to the public school rankings we've received."

Blane attributed the state's high marks to a cooperative land-use system between state and local governments.

"The state and local governments are paddling the same canoe," Blane said. "It's the reason we haven't become a Las Vegas."

Although Hawaii plans its growth well, it doesn't do enough to preserve the land, said Sierra Club Hawaii Director Jeff Mikulina.

Hawaii ranked 40th in open-space protection for two reasons, he said: "We have a great land-use law, but we don't enforce it. And we commit more resources to marketing the state, instead of buying open land and protecting it."

"It's frightening that Hawaii clocked in at 40 when we know every inch of open space is so precious," he said. "We can't afford to lose it."

The state of Maryland, which placed first in open-space protection, allocated $140 million to buy lands threatened by development, according to the Sierra Club, while Hawaii hasn't actively purchased its open spaces.