Governor displeased
with BRT opposition
A bipartisan call to put the brakes on Mayor Jeremy Harris' Bus Rapid Transit project is not in the best interest of the state and city's attempt to find one solution to solve Oahu's transportation problems, Gov. Linda Lingle said yesterday.
"I was surprised by what happened at City Hall about this bipartisan group coming out to oppose the BRT," Lingle said, referring to a press conference earlier this week.
"I ... didn't know that it was going to occur, and it went against the grain of what I was trying to achieve of getting some sort of a consensus for the island of Oahu on transit issues," the Republican governor said.
Councilman Charles Djou, also a Republican, was among several elected officials and community leaders who gathered at City Hall on Wednesday demanding that the mayor not continue with his $50 million first phase of the BRT plan to use hybrid electric express buses that will travel from downtown to Waikiki.
Djou said he agrees with the governor that a consensus is needed between the city and state.
"The problem is city government is not on the same page," Djou said. "The mayor is moving forward on BRT. I just don't think that's the way to go. If we want consensus here, the mayor should back off on BRT."
Harris has no plans to back down from BRT, saying that it is a project that can be implemented now, while a fixed-rail system will take six to 10 years to put in place.
Lingle said that the mayor's views have been welcomed at the table in her task force of state and city officials looking at transportation alternatives.
"Our meetings have been candid, and obviously Mayor Harris has a very different opinion than others on the committee," she said. "(Council Chairman Gary) Okino has very strong set views on rail transit and planning issues generally, and everybody would express them but we'd always leave looking forward to the next meeting."
When asked if she thought the bipartisan group's criticism was a setback, the governor replied: "I don't think it helps the cause of finding a consensus on where we need to move on this issue. I don't think it was helpful, so we'll have to try to bring it back all together at our meeting."
The task force will meet Monday to hear from state transportation chief Rodney Haraga.
