COMMENTARY
Transit myopia could make us 'Parking Lot of the Pacific'

By Paul Sosso

Paul Sosso is a multimedia specialist at UH-Manoa and regularly commutes to work by bicycle.

Each bicycle commuter represents one less car on clogged roads. So why have the people who run Honolulu made cycling here so dangerous? Advertiser library photo

Arguments against rail cite relatively new operations, including New Jersey's less-than-2-year-old system. Why not study systems that have served major cities for 30 to 50 or 75 years? How about Chicago's El, the San Francisco Bay Area's combination of MUNI and BART, or Japan's system of trains?

I suggest a good place to start is along San Francisco's Embarcadero. Removal of a freeway actually created some of the most prosperous areas of the city. From Fisherman's Wharf all the way to PacBell Park, it's a beautiful stretch that accommodates businesses, residents, runners, cyclists and commuters during all hours.

We live in one of the most awe-inspiring spots on the planet, yet treat our 'aina with continued disrespect for our own and future generations. Do we really want to build more roads while we simultaneously discriminate against and disallow bicycles? We talk about creating double-decked freeways but fail to see the ugly scars and neighborhood rifts of the H-1, H-2 and H-3.

Do we really want to create more poorly designed, abysmally accessible freeways? Or are we going to finally take a bold stand and make ours a model for the world to emulate?

A rail system must serve people where they travel, work and live. Anything short is a waste of money and resources. It also must be built in phases over many years. Why not run a true light-rail system in town first? Make it independent of the traffic lanes, but at street level. Serve the population that lives and works in Honolulu. Imagine, if you could, car pools downtown — drop people off to catch the rail to UH or other major in-town destinations.

Phase 1 could begin with light-rail service along the Ala Moana, King Street and Beretania corridors. These three thoroughfares access a good 70 percent of downtown Honolulu and could significantly reduce traffic flowing in, through and out of town.

Beginning at University, the King Street-Beretania run could offer a continuous loop up Beretania street, around downtown, then back down King, with trains every 10 to 15 minutes, stopping every 7 to 10 blocks. Ala Moana could run from the airport all the way to Waikiki. Then route buses accordingly to empty the corridors.

This not only makes car-pooling more attractive, it simultaneously reduces traffic flow in town while increasing the efficiency of in-town travel. (Faster than TheBus — fewer cars on the road.) The second phase would include a commuter run to outer communities or to Aloha stadium.

Many also cite the cost. Rail is too expensive compared to roads. Do you think those new streets don't cost money? How about the streetlights, the repairs, the street cleaners, not to mention the wear and tear on your car? Are they all free? How much money could you save per month if you didn't need a car? What effect does all this concrete have on our water table, reefs and marine life? These are questions that need answers.

In conjunction with rail, we must also stop penalizing cyclists. Every bicycle on the street is one less car you deal with in traffic. One less car burning fuel and polluting the air, water and land. Bicyclists hit the streets in record numbers during the bus strike.

So how were they rewarded for their initiative (and bravery)? City officials recently set up a sting operation on the Ala Wai to ticket them! Cyclists were getting tickets while noisy scooters with defective mufflers, cars with expired plates and countless drivers with illegal window-tinting continued to whiz by! Appalling.

I suggest our leaders visit cities such as Denver, Boulder, Colo.; Des Moines, Iowa; Portland, Ore.; or Munich, Germany (to name but a few) to get an idea of how cycling can be encouraged as alternative transportation. It's disgraceful that we have one of the world's most ideal climates, yet are considered by many to offer some of the most dangerous cycling in the world! Mainland cities where the temperature ranges from summertime 90s to a bone-chilling minus 40 degrees have bike paths that make Honolulu's streets look like a Third World engineering project.

A well-designed routing of bicycles and light rail could serve us for generations. Think! We live on an island of unmatched beauty. It's time we stop disrespecting our lands, our limited resources and our heritage as an island community. Look ahead 20 and 30 years. What kind of island home do you wish to leave to your keiki? One of parking lots and ugly roads? One of traffic jams, double-decked freeways and concrete pillars?

Here's an idea. Let's forget all this rail nonsense. Let's just build more roads, buy more cars, lock up the cyclists — stay on our present path. Let's take the easy way and just change our identity. Instead of "The Gathering Place," let's become "Parking Lot of the Pacific."