DRIVE TIME
City Council poised to OK $35M for Bus Rapid Transit
By Mike Leidemann
Advertiser Transportation Writer
The City Council appears ready this month to approve $35 million to start work on a Bus Rapid Transit system, the centerpiece of Mayor Jeremy Harris' transportation plan for the next decade.
Even so, BRT opponents haven't given up hope that it can be derailed sometime before it is finished, 10 years and $1 billion from now.
Local opponents hope that a new City Council taking office next year will cut off funding, at least forcing the city to look at alternatives such as better traffic management or a fixed-rail system before going further with the bus project, which they see as hurting rather than helping drivers.
Most recently, opponents have been circulating a report from the University of Hawai'i's Environmental Center, which says the city's BRT environmental impact statement is deficient in many ways. Among other things, it says the plan fails to address what technology will be used for the new buses and how ridership estimates were produced, and didn't consider alternative financing or what kinds of development are likely to occur around planned bus transit centers.
Information to help you get around O'ahu: • TheBus: For schedules and other information, call 848-5555 or visit www.thebus.org. • Vanpool Hawai'i: 596-8267 • Trafficam: Check out traffic conditions at more than 20 major intersections around Honolulu. • Road work:
The report also suggests that the BRT, which would have buses running every two to four minutes on dedicated and semidedicated traffic lanes, doesn't go far enough in helping the university lure students out of their cars in favor of using a mass-transit system. It suggests that the BRT might be fine for long hauls from the 'Ewa plains to Kalihi or the city center, but other alternatives should be considered for in-town use.
Commuting
"The final EIS would be improved not just with more discussion of the BRT technology, but also with a more complete analysis of the benefits and costs of this project," said the report, signed by UH Environmental Coordinator John Harrison.
Meanwhile, some state lawmakers are urging Gov. Ben Cayetano to take action on a resolution this year that calls for creation of a task force regarding a light-rail system on O'ahu.
"The zipper lane, carpooling and vanpooling, The Bus and other alternatives are helpful, but the congestion problems continue ... ," Rep. Willie Espero, D-41 ('Ewa Beach) wrote in a letter to Cayetano.
The resolution passed in both the House and Senate calls for a new task force to review previous work, assess the need for a new light-rail system, identify financing sources and consider new designs and routes for such a system.
City officials say they have studied alternatives for years and have had hundreds of hearings on the BRT details and are convinced they have made the right transportation choice for now.
Espero notes that O'ahu officials have tried twice before to develop a light-rail system here, but both efforts were killed.
"It will not come cheap, but I believe it is an investment O'ahu must make. If previous efforts were successful, we would have a system in place right now," he said. "There will be opposition, but there will also be support. Whatever the task force, a serious look at a light-rail or monorail system should begin."
Mike Leidemann's Drive Time column appears every Tuesday. Reach him at 525-5460 or mleidemann@honoluluadvertiser.com.
