[ OUR OPINION ]
Fixed-rail transit revives
because it makes senseFIXED-RAIL mass transit, rejected in 1982 and again a decade later, appears to be back on track, with the city and state administrations and the City Council unified in support of the idea. The Council's Transportation Committee has unanimously supported a resolution backing a "work plan" for a rail line reaching from Kapolei to downtown. All levels of government should get fully on board and go forward with the plan.
THE ISSUE
The City Council's Transportation Committee has approved a resolution calling for fixed-rail mass transit between downtown and Kapolei.The City Council rejected then-Mayor Frank Fasi's proposal for a rapid-transit plan 21 years ago and a scaled-down light-rail version stretching from Leeward Community College to downtown in 1992. That plan was halted by a 5-4 vote on a tax increase to finance its construction. While Mayor Harris' Bus Rapid Transit plan, using high-capacity buses, is likely to be an improvement over the current traffic crawl, Honolulu is particularly suited for such a rail system because of its linear coastal configuration.
State Transportation Director Rodney Haraga told the Council he will present the governor's task force on transportation a mass transit plan that includes rail, a bus system and road improvements. Haraga said city and state cooperation is needed to ensure federal funding, which could account for half or more of the cost.
Cheryl Soon, the city transportation services director, warily endorsed the Council resolution with the admonition, "If you really don't intend to go all the way through with it, don't appropriate a penny; just stop right now."
Council Chairman Gary Okino, who introduced the resolution, said it would authorize a "work plan" consisting of "a quick, brief, preliminary assessment that will pull together all our previous studies, update all the information, give us different financing options as to how we're going to do this." As Okino appreciates, no more studies are needed.
Okino says the key to his proposal is putting the rail line at a different level from vehicle traffic to avoid snarls. Lingle has proposed an elevated highway between downtown and Kapolei, and Haraga says that will be included in a plan he was to present to the task force. Those two visions don't mesh.
Other refinements will be needed to develop a plan that satisfies both the Harris and Lingle administrations, along with the City Council. Because of all the previous studies conducted during the past three decades, that process will not take as long as one might expect.
Taking Soon's warning to heart, Council members should make sure their commitment is strong and then approve the resolution. Cooperation is needed at all levels to make a rapid-transit system a reality in Honolulu.
