Residents slam
Oahu traffic jams

Most polled agree traffic
is terrible, but are not aware
of the city's plan to fix it

Gordon Y.K. Pang
Star-Bulletin

An overwhelming number of Oahu voters believe there is a traffic problem, but many are unfamiliar with a plan designed to fix it.

Eighty-nine percent of respondents in the latest Honolulu Star-Bulletin/NBC Hawaii News 8 Poll said they believe Oahu has a traffic problem.

"It's so densely populated now," said Kathy James, of Makiki, a poll participant. Particularly around morning and afternoon peak hours, "traffic gets really bad."

Neighborhood leaders agree. Dick Poirier, chairman of the Mililani/Waipio/Melemanu Neighborhood Board, said it is ridiculous that it takes "anywhere from an hour to an hour and a half" to drive 17 miles into downtown Honolulu. "Traffic is extremely bad."

It takes Maeda Timson, chairwoman of the Makakilo/Kapolei/ Honokai Hale Neighborhood Board, 45 to 90 minutes to get from her Makakilo home to work in downtown Honolulu.

"You just never know what kind of day it will be," she said. "There's a terrible traffic problem out there and it's not really getting better."

Mayor Jeremy Harris, following a yearlong series of community meetings, has come up with an Oahu Trans2K plan that involves more buses, on-ramps and expanded Zipper Lane service, as well as an in-town City Tram.

The plan is expected to cost more than $1 billion.

But as of this month, only 36 percent of the public believe the mayor has presented a clear transit plan, while 62 percent believe he has not.

"That tells me almost two-thirds of the people don't know we've presented a plan on transit," Harris said.

"The plan is clear. There's no ambiguity."

The mayor said the results show "a clear indication we, in the city, have to do a lot more to let people know about the plan."

He also urged news organizations and other media to do more stories on Oahu Trans2K.

"I don't know all of the intricacies," said poll respondent Sheldon Lau, a Kuliouou resident. "I haven't heard enough about it." Lau said he would likely support a plan because he believes it would help traffic and create jobs.

No tax increase

Harris noted that his plan does not require an increase in taxes, relying instead on long-term payment bonds and federal assistance over a period of years.

The mayor will need to stick to that plan, according to the poll, which states 55 percent of those queried oppose a tax increase to fund a mass transit system. Only 36 percent said they would favor increasing taxes.

About seven out of 10 of those responding said they favor a fixed-rail mass transit system, a plan that transit experts thought had fallen out of favor with the public because of cost and aesthetic considerations.

Harris said he believes the poll included the wrong question and that some of those responding may have been confused.

A rail system calls for steel-wheeled vehicles that are guided along a rail track. They receive power from a "hot rail," which is considered a "heavy rail," or overhead wires, which are associated with light rail.

Tram alternative

In contrast, the tram proposal deals with rubber-tired vehicles that can leave the track and run on its own for short periods of time

It could receive electrical charges from platelets embedded in the road. That is the Harris administration's preferred alternative.

The tram may also be in a "hybrid" format using diesel- or fuel-celled electric power systems.

One high-profile segment of Harris' transit plan, involving a tunnel running underwater from Sand Island to Kakaako, did not get favorable reactions from a majority of those polled.

Only 21 percent said they think the tunnel is a good idea, while 34 percent disapproved it.

Nearly half said they didn't know enough about it to form an opinion.

"I don't go for the idea of tunneling, that's way too expensive," said Herbert Matsumoto of Salt Lake, a poll respondent who said he wants to support the rest of Harris' plan.

The poll of 229 registered voters on Oahu was conducted Dec. 9-13 by telephone by Mason-Dixon Polling & Research Inc,. of Washington, D.C. The margin of error is plus or minus 5.9 percent.

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More voters approve
of Harris; Hannemann
finds vindication

Gordon Y.K. Pang
Star-Bulletin

More voters had a favorable opinion of Mayor Jeremy Harris in the latest Honolulu Star-Bulletin/NBC Hawaii News 8 Poll than in the previous one -- but more also had an unfavorable opinion.

Harris was viewed favorably by 40 percent of voters polled statewide. However, 26 percent had an unfavorable view.

The mayor said he is pleased with the results.

Marsha White, 60, a waitress, said she gave Harris a fair rating, but she dislikes some of his actions.

"One thing he always does is he jumps ahead and always starts something and then gets grounded for it, like the (Waikiki) Natatorium," said White, a Nuuanu resident.

The mayor's favorable and unfavorable ratings are both up from a similar survey done in February. At that time, Harris had a 35 percent favorable rating and a 19 percent unfavorable rating.

Of three City Council members who have been in the news lately, Mufi Hannemann scored highest. Hannemann, who has lost the chairmanship of both the Council and its Transportation Committee in the last six months, was viewed favorably by 38 percent.

He said poll results validate his harsh grilling of administrative policies. "The public wants us to question the expenditure of public dollars," Hannemann said.

Council Chairman Jon Yoshimura got a 21 percent favorable rating and a 28 percent unfavorable rating. The low favorable rating may in part reflect a recent hit-and-run incident involving a car driven by Yoshimura and a parked car. Yoshimura has insisted that he thought his car had hit a telephone pole.

He declined comment on the poll results.

John Henry Felix, who has made headlines by operating a wedding chapel out of his home, received a 14 percent favorable rating and a 36 percent unfavorable rating. The city Planning and Permitting Department has been fining Felix for continuing to use the home for weddings. Felix insists that the ceremonies are an allowable use and is contesting the fines.

Felix said he was not surprised by the low favorable rating, given the negative media coverage. The coverage, he said, did not tell his side of the story and "was pretty much slanted one way."

Numbers for the mayor's ratings came from a Dec. 9-13 telephone poll of 411 registered voters statewide by Mason-Dixon Polling & Research Inc. of Washington, D.C. It has a margin of error of plus or minus 5 percentage points.

Ratings for council members was based on interviews with 292 Oahu voters, with a margin of error of plus or minus 5.9 percentage points.