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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Sunday, July 6, 2003

O'ahu motorists should be charged a fee for driving in Waikiki

By Nicholas Hahn

Traffic mars the beauty of Waikiki and if unchecked, may hurt Hawai'i's visitor industry.

The problems that traffic brings have been discussed and documented, but not thoroughly addressed. The best way to address Waikiki's traffic problems would be to reduce the number of cars by charging motorists a fee for using the roads.

Reducing the flow of cars would have many benefits: the possibility to widen sidewalks, which in turn would allow for increased space for pedestrians, sidewalk cafes, and perhaps even bicyclists. Most importantly, though, it would reduce the side effects of the traffic problem in Waikiki: noise, pollution, and its status as a moving eyesore.

My proposal is for Honolulu to do as central London did in February: to charge people for using the roads.

In London, Mayor Ken Livingstone began a plan to charge drivers 5 pounds ($8) a day to use the roads in the city's center during peak driving times, with a 90 percent discount for residents. According to the Economist magazine, traffic decreased by one-third within a week. The revenues are to be used to improve mass transit.

Honolulu should follow London's lead. As in London, cameras can be used to monitor traffic in Waikiki, and can check which vehicles are properly registered. Owners who have not paid would be severely fined. Nonresidents of Waikiki should be expected to pay for using roads in Waikiki and filling already precious parking spaces. Residents, service vehicles and tourists should be allowed a sharp discount or free travel within Waikiki.

Finally, drivers should be charged even more on weekends in order to foster a pedestrian shopping district.

Besides the obvious economic benefit of reduced traffic, there is also an environmental benefit. The dredging of the Ala Wai Canal has been halted, at an added cost to taxpayers because of a need to gain permits from the Department of Health to remove toxic substances.

According to the Ala Wai Watershed Association, there is a 20 percent staph infection rate among paddlers, which experts have attributed in part to the high levels of pollution in the Ala Wai Canal. Some hospitals and clinics actually have an "Ala Wai section."

Obviously, there will be opposition from O'ahu's residents. As a general rule, people will pursue their own narrow interests, even to the detriment of the greater public good; in this case, the marketability of Waikiki, one of Hawai'i's main tourist draws.

The government's job is to override people's selfish aims and improve problematic conditions.

People need to be made to understand that Waikiki's high-density traffic presents a cost for Hawai'i's visitor industry. Since drivers create the cost, they should pay for debasing one of Hawai'i's main tourist spots.

Nicholas Hahn is a political-science student at Beloit College in Wisconsin.