Under the Sun
THE GLARE off the minivan three cars ahead of me angled perfectly to elude the flipped-down sunscreen on my trusty Toyota. Dark glasses became my only defense against light bouncing off hundreds of sedans, SUVs, coupes and monster trucks that seemed connected like gleaming strands of beads in front of me. Airport trips illuminate
the misery of commutersSquinting through the windshield as traffic dribbled forward a foot at a time along the airport viaduct, I thumbed on the right blinker. Please, please, I begged, counting on the kindness of strangers -- the lone drivers huddled over steering wheels like me -- to let me squeeze through to the exit lane for Nimitz.
Twenty minutes later, I was off the viaduct and into the stop-and-go of the highway that transits some of the most unattractive segments of Oahu's coastline. I told myself that Nimitz was a better choice than the H-1, although I was sorry I could not travel both at the same time to truly compare.
The eight miles or so from the airport to Kaimuki cut close to an hour from my day. It was a vexing and boring experience that I'd have to repeat a week later, but I don't guess anyone who lives in Mililani or Nanakuli or Kapolei or Pearl City and has a job in town will feel sorry for me. They have to make the haul every work day, into the rising sun on the way out and into the sunset going home.
I've worked from home for the past two years, but even before that, dealing with traffic wasn't the chore it is for many others. My hours were either so early that most people were still asleep during my commute or so late that I missed the morning rush hour. So dropping off people at the airport then joining the legion headed to town was edification of what I've only known in abstract.
No wonder Leeward and Central Oahu motorists are so willing to consider almost any solution. Some would even entertain the totally un-American notion of leaving the car at home and using mass transit, if it were more convenient than the bus.
Making the matter more frustrating, government and elected officials -- augmented by nattering, self-appointed transportation experts -- can't seem to agree on what to do. BRT, the city's attempt to get people out of their cars, was picking up steam until a new City Council and governor began turning up their noses at it. It seems we've been wrangling with ideas about a ferry system, elevated highways, underground roads and tunnels, a reef runway for cars, light rail, monorail and multi-contra-flow lanes since the beginning of time.
Now plans for a fixed-rail system, abandoned by the city a decade ago, are being revived. House lawmakers are pushing for a study to explore the possibilities and the governor says she will convene a transit summit next month to come up with a proposal.
A rail system could reduce traffic, but it will take many years and loads of money to build. And it cannot stand alone. Traffic problems are as numerous as the cars that cause them. They require multiple solutions on many levels, solutions that can be shifted or altered as traffic issues change.
I'm not saying anything here that transportation gurus don't already know. We've all been immersed in discussions about jammed roads since the H-1 was constructed a half-century ago. Talking and planning is a necessary part of the process, but so far that's all we've done. Meanwhile, more cars swing onto the freeways day after day and getting from one place to another consumes more of our time.
I don't know if I'll have to make another morning swing from the airport soon. If I do, I'll wear a billed hat, pack a bottle of water and a snack and slather on the SPF-30 sun block. It will be like going on a day-long hike, except that it won't be along a road less traveled.
Cynthia Oi has been on the staff of the Star-Bulletin for 25 years.
She can be reached at: coi@starbulletin.com.