Re: on our soon to be rail tranisit
For those of us old enough to remember days when Pali Highway and Likelike Highway were the only reasonable ways into town from the Windward side, it would seem that those arguing for more (and better) roads have a strong point. Traffic from the Windward side used to be awful, even on good days. Throw in one stalled vehicle just before a tunnel, and it seemed everyone was late going anywhere from anywhere.
The H-3, for all its problems and issues, proved once it was functioning that the bumper sticker was right: We all needed H-3. The drive from the Windward side, while still not exactly fun during rush hour, is a million times better now.
It seems that if some similar alternate avenue was created for those coming from the Leeward side into town, we could really do something. I honestly don't know about people not wanting to get out of their cars, since I have been both driver and pedestrian in the past few years and saw the appeal of both modes, but I believe if mass transit was attractive enough and everyone gave it a shot for about a week, enough people WOULD leave their cars home to make this work. Failing that, it seems another way in is the only solution.
I don't think limiting the number of cars on the island is a practical solution. Rethinking the way we approach our homes and our workspaces is much smarter. If you can get people living closer to where they work, drives to work will be shorter. The buses are crammed with working-class people who have to work in Waikiki but could never afford to live there. What if we got all those people busing from Ewa, Kapolei, and Mililani into homes they could afford closer to town?
The recently failed Kakaako redevelopment plan and the newly proposed Victoria Ward plan are models that consider these variables. Mixed-use districts combined with homes for people of various incomes will mean fewer cars on the roads. In my twelve years as a teacher, I have never lived further than a fifteen minute drive from where I work. It makes my own life a lot better, but I like to think that since I'm on the freeway now for only the distance that stretches between two offramps, I'm also doing my part to make everyone else's drive slightly better. Imagine if thousands more of us were doing the same thing.
I confess to being disappointed by the "steel wheels on a steel rail" option that's being recommended partially because I think something new and different will get people to give alternate modes a chance.
For those of us old enough to remember days when Pali Highway and Likelike Highway were the only reasonable ways into town from the Windward side, it would seem that those arguing for more (and better) roads have a strong point. Traffic from the Windward side used to be awful, even on good days. Throw in one stalled vehicle just before a tunnel, and it seemed everyone was late going anywhere from anywhere.
The H-3, for all its problems and issues, proved once it was functioning that the bumper sticker was right: We all needed H-3. The drive from the Windward side, while still not exactly fun during rush hour, is a million times better now.
It seems that if some similar alternate avenue was created for those coming from the Leeward side into town, we could really do something. I honestly don't know about people not wanting to get out of their cars, since I have been both driver and pedestrian in the past few years and saw the appeal of both modes, but I believe if mass transit was attractive enough and everyone gave it a shot for about a week, enough people WOULD leave their cars home to make this work. Failing that, it seems another way in is the only solution.
I don't think limiting the number of cars on the island is a practical solution. Rethinking the way we approach our homes and our workspaces is much smarter. If you can get people living closer to where they work, drives to work will be shorter. The buses are crammed with working-class people who have to work in Waikiki but could never afford to live there. What if we got all those people busing from Ewa, Kapolei, and Mililani into homes they could afford closer to town?
The recently failed Kakaako redevelopment plan and the newly proposed Victoria Ward plan are models that consider these variables. Mixed-use districts combined with homes for people of various incomes will mean fewer cars on the roads. In my twelve years as a teacher, I have never lived further than a fifteen minute drive from where I work. It makes my own life a lot better, but I like to think that since I'm on the freeway now for only the distance that stretches between two offramps, I'm also doing my part to make everyone else's drive slightly better. Imagine if thousands more of us were doing the same thing.
I confess to being disappointed by the "steel wheels on a steel rail" option that's being recommended partially because I think something new and different will get people to give alternate modes a chance.
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