Rail Transit

[sansei]

Re: Rail Transit

hi this is sansei and i just returned from ala moana with my mom and when going to ala moana,our bus on our route came almost on time and then when we went to wait for the bus no 57 kailua keolu dr bus,it took about almost half an hour before my mom and i caught the bus,then it took a little while before we got to our destination and then we caught our bus home and we waited at a bus stop and the driver took a break and she took about 15 minute's and then we finally got home about 11:29 am and then i had lunch and went on my moped to check something out at Marukai dillingham and they didnt have it so i went home and im now finally relaxing and this is a true reason why rail from the other part of the island is needed.

im voting yes for rail since it's greatly needed. not brt which ann k wishes,it wouldnt help and only in small neighborhood's brt would work like mine so i thought to share this with everyone.


well thank's for your time

[Composite 2992]

Re: Rail Transit

The requirements are what the City currently wants. It's not what I pulled out of thin air.

Cars and buses work well? At 4 p.m, jump on a bus in downtown Honolulu and go to Ewa. Then talk about how wonderful the traffic is.

No one is suggesting banning cars. As I've said dozens of times before, alternative transportation is an OPTION. You can CHOOSE.

It's also the smart thing to do in the long run. Reduce dependency on oil is strategic goal #1. If we no longer have to import oil from the Middle East, then why would we care what they do with their countries?

Reduce carbon emissions is also high in the priority list. Global warming is real.

Reduce demand for parking in downtown, at the various colleges and the university.


Carpooling: In the real world, it doesn't provide a flexible mobility option. You're stuck to someone else's schedule. Have you tried it? I have. Carpooling has been around for years. We did it for several months until our car pool members changed shifts or moved to different places. The more people you have in a carpool the higher the risk of schedule conflicts.

A mass transit system can accommodate a variety of work schedules and destinations for a large number of people. A carpool can't.

TheBus: Too slow. That's already been discussed. The bus puts you into the traffic flow. Not a good option. They also run on fossil fuels, and emission controls aren't as effective as a central powerplant would be. I rode the bus for a couple of years as a college student and my wife used it to commute, too. When was the last time you actually used the bus?

[salmoned]

Re: Rail Transit

You're still not getting it. Who is this City, other than you and I and the rest of the residents? You mean the mayor and/or city council wants something that fits those requirements? They are not the city.

Rail is no more flexible than The Bus, in fact, it's less flexible - it can't and won't go into most communities island-wide and never will approach the extensive reach of bus service. Standard bus routes are currently slower than rail is projected to be at peak traffic periods, but faster at other times, and always more convenient/accessible (express buses are currently as fast or faster than rail). However, with some creative management of HOV lanes, bus travel could be optimized and easily become faster than rail, while at the same time easing traffic for other HOV participants. We HAVE a mass transit system. It's reliable, flexible and reasonably efficient. We don't need to tack on another entirely new and less flexible system onto our current system, we need to optimize what we have for ALL riders (and not just those using the 20 mile Alignment corridor).

Look, when I jump on the express bus from downtown to Ewa Beach at 4pm, I get home as fast as when I drive alone (and I get to read a book, do a crossword puzzle or get some shut-eye). You may not like that, but it's true. Going in to town in the morning, I beat my driving time. Even so, I know the route isn't optimized, more and more comprehensive HOV/Bus lanes could improve the time.

If more people choose to ride buses and HOV cars because of more and more extensive (thereby faster) HOV lanes, then oil usage, pollution and parking problems will be directly reduced and traffic congestion will be immediately improved (for those participants). Building rail does none of that on it's own. We'll still have to encourage people to switch from cars to bus/rail, just like we have to encourage them now. Are you going to offer free breakfasts or what?

You simply fail to see traffic congestion as a behavioral problem, rather than a capacity problem. Behavior/density has to be modified, not capacity. There's room for all, as long as we accept a little less room each (HOV, bus/rail, flexible work schedules, etc). If we can't do that, then the only hope is a declining census. Rail will certainly not allow us to have our cake and eat it too (though it will make us pay for cake whether we like it or not).

The loud, filthy, stinking, obnoxious, dangerous, destructive and lewd people found on the bus will be there on the train, too. If you didn't like them on the bus, they won't be any more pleasant on the train, but on the train when they cause a disruption/crime, any delay will resonate throughout the system (unlike on the bus).

[Composite 2992]

Re: Rail Transit

It's funny how it was so easy for me to train a dog to open and close a door.

It's a lot tougher to open a closed mind.

[salmoned]

Re: Rail Transit

...and I'm obviously not getting anywhere near opening yours' to the realization that a heavy commuter rail system is overkill on Oahu. We'll run out of potable water before we reach a population that would justify it. Your imagining that people will 'choose' rail as a potential way to reduce carbon emissions, parking problems or oil dependency is the height of naivete. Those people are already riding the bus (or carpooling) and have been for years.

[LikaNui]

Re: Rail Transit

The bottom line is the bottom line -- We. Simply. Cannot. AFFORD. Rail.

According to a report by the Federal Transit Administration, sixteen rail projects on the mainland had cost overruns as high as 72%.
That includes these overruns:
Baltimore 42%
Denver 21%
Jacksonville 60%
Los Angeles 48%
Portland 72%
San Francisco 60%
San Jose 47%
Seattle 57%

On O'ahu, recent examples of cost overruns on public works projects range from the $1.3 billion H-3 Freeway, which was projected to cost $250 million, to the $75 million Kalaheo Avenue sewer project in Kailua, which was supposed to cost $19 million.
Let's just stop this rail nonsense before it bankrupts our entire local economy.

[Frankie's Market]

Re: Rail Transit

On O'ahu, recent examples of cost overruns on public works projects range from the $1.3 billion H-3 Freeway, which was projected to cost $250 million,

*Yawn!* Misleading and very poor example to make your case. H-3 cost overrun was due to 30+ years worth of construction delays due to lawsuits, as well as several re-routings of the freeway. (You do know it was originally supposed to go through Moanalua Valley, right?) With all the changes in the alignment as well as the inevitable effects of inflation brought on by decades worth of construction delays, the cost overrun was unavoidable. Your apples-to-oranges comparison is flat-out deceptive and most unconvincing.

Let's just stop this rail nonsense before it bankrupts our entire local economy.

And then what? Pray and hope that traffic gets better by sitting on our hands and doing nothing?

Typical Cliff Slater thinking.

[WindwardOahuRN]

Re: Rail Transit

The bottom line is the bottom line -- We. Simply. Cannot. AFFORD. Rail.

According to a report by the Federal Transit Administration, sixteen rail projects on the mainland had cost overruns as high as 72%.
That includes these overruns:
Baltimore 42%
Denver 21%
Jacksonville 60%
Los Angeles 48%
Portland 72%
San Francisco 60%
San Jose 47%
Seattle 57%

On O'ahu, recent examples of cost overruns on public works projects range from the $1.3 billion H-3 Freeway, which was projected to cost $250 million, to the $75 million Kalaheo Avenue sewer project in Kailua, which was supposed to cost $19 million.
Let's just stop this rail nonsense before it bankrupts our entire local economy.

My my, Rick. The umbrage never ceases to amaze.

Historically, public transit has NEVER paid for itself. Never. But the service that it provides has been unequivocally recognized as necessary.

Shortsightedness is a common trait of those who seek only personal benefit.

Would you like to give up the H-3? Me neither.

Nor would I like to shelve the sewer projects. It's a fact of life in this world of ours that infrastructure craps out, breaks down, and must be replaced. And we must pay for it. It is thus in every metropolis.

It is also a fact of life that, as population increases, needs increase. Transportation, housing, health care.

We can stamp our feet and feign indignation because we see it as "popular."

Or we can choose to be realistic, pull up our bootstraps, and head into the future.

[sansei]

Re: Rail Transit

hi this is sansei and today i shared with our great mayor's office staff on how i feel of his rail and i shared that we need our great mayor's steel on steel and she agreed.

i also shared with the staff that my sister who live's in calif and my cousin who live's in oc calif that their rail's are quiet and not noisy and she agreed with me and i shared with her that srn is the person's who requested to pull the rail add's and she agreed that they shouldnt have done so and i shared with the staff that my vote is for rail and not Ann k and her brt and i also shared that my vote is for our great mayor so i thought to share this with everyone.

well thank's for your time

[Bobinator]

Re: Rail Transit

The bottom line is the bottom line -- We. Simply. Cannot. AFFORD. Rail.

According to a report by the Federal Transit Administration, sixteen rail projects on the mainland had cost overruns as high as 72%.
That includes these overruns:
Baltimore 42%
Denver 21%
Jacksonville 60%
Los Angeles 48%
Portland 72%
San Francisco 60%
San Jose 47%
Seattle 57%

On O'ahu, recent examples of cost overruns on public works projects range from the $1.3 billion H-3 Freeway, which was projected to cost $250 million, to the $75 million Kalaheo Avenue sewer project in Kailua, which was supposed to cost $19 million.
Let's just stop this rail nonsense before it bankrupts our entire local economy.

Your right, and it's not just rail. Look at the Natatorium. It was supposed to cost $18M. Then it increased to $22M. Then finally, $33M, AND THE *$@!K'N THING STILL ISN'T FIXED!!! You trust the City with your $$? Not to mention the stupidity of a salt water pool next to the ocean that wouldn't be used nearly enough to justify the expenditure. Rail is no different.

Common, people, do the math! Tell us how we're going to pay for it, and not what you THINK it will do for you. Be exact, and don't reflect the B.S. propaganda you hear on the radio being paid for by our tax dollars. I'll tell you- every property owner, including me, will see their property taxes significantly increase to pay for this! This is a fact that Mufi refuses to address.

I've already bought my extra long pitch fork and made a torch. When my property taxes increase, I'm marching to City Hall to chant for Mufi and every other City Official pushing this "bridge to nowhere" to get tarred and feathered regardless if they're still around. Anybody wanna join? Membership is free, but you have to buy your own pitch fork.

[LikaNui]

Re: Rail Transit

I liked David Shapiro's column in today's Advertiser, especially the unanswered questions about rail.

[Bobinator]

Re: Rail Transit

Lika-

Shapiro hit it on the nose.

When you think about it, this economic mess that we're in is also the fault of homebuyers with the same prevailing attitude that "If I buy it (build it), I'll somehow be able to afford it, even if by some miracle." Go figure! Even though there's blame to go around, a homebuyer should know they can't afford a $500,000 house on a $40K salary. We don't know what the exact cost of rail will be, but we know it'll be a lot more than $3.7 Billion. Even at that we can't afford it without a permanent and rather significant tax increase.

The "build it, and they will come" line sure didn't work for that soccor/baseball field out in Waipio we spent untold millions on. Remember that?

[salmoned]

Re: Rail Transit

Oops, another duplicate post - I can't understand why editing often produces duplicate posts.

[salmoned]

Re: Rail Transit

I just received the "Honolulu Rail Transit Q & A" flyer paid for by city taxpayers. What a snow job - it's completely pro-rail with no opposing viewpoint and a lot of misleading/false 'information'. Even so, it admits that a car with 3 riders is more efficient than rail. It says nothing about the relative efficiency of rail versus bus.

I don't understand how 25,000 cars will be removed from the roads when less than 10,000 parking spaces will be available for rail passengers - are over 15,000 car drivers going to walk to/from rail?

Construction of rail will increase city revenues? Even if the taxes on rail construction were over 90%, we still couldn't create a net gain of tax revenue with rail because the city will be spending every dollar from which it receives increased tax revenue. It is simple nonsense to state that city revenues will increase due to increased city spending on rail construction.

One of the cities mentioned in the flyer as a 'successfully operating rail transit': San Juan, PR - "In an attempt to decrease vehicle dependency and road congestion, the City constructed a metro system dubbed “Tren Urbano” ("Urban Train"). The 10.7 mile (17.2 km) line connects to sixteen stations. The project, which opened in late 2004, cost 2.25 billion dollars and was more than $1 billion over budget and four years late. The Tren Urbano has received less than expected ridership than was originally projected and has not significantly reduced the city's automobile traffic, despite a reported 7.5% ridership increase in 2006 over 2005." From Wikipedia

[joshuatree]

Re: Rail Transit

If road, cars, and buses is the working solution, then why do we have traffic gridlock and why do we have to be dealing with a transit issue?