DRIVE TIME
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Comments and suggestions on Honolulu's traffic problems, from our readers:
Lane problem blamed for H-1 traffic jams
On H-1 townbound, from the Waipahu exit to the next merge, there is a third lane that exists but is crossed off to traffic. That is where a huge traffic jam starts every morning. The merge could be made safe without the lane crossed off. It would ease the traffic jam if cars did not need to go from three lanes to two at the Waipahu exit.
Barbara F. Grimes, Wai'anae
Shuttle bus proposed for area's shoppers
I have an idea for a bus system in the 'Ewa Beach area that goes through the housing complexes and drops off passengers at the shopping malls in the area to do shopping, eat at a restaurant, get a haircut, bank or do some other business.
To pay for it, I propose a once-a-month fee added to a resident's maintenance fee, $5 or $10 dollars per household with unlimited rides. This might be an incentive not to drive.
A reader from 'Ewa Beach
Even wealthy may use good subway system
Public transportation is the solution to our traffic needs. Subways don't have to wait for traffic and hence are faster to get anywhere generally. Even wealthy people will ride the subway, as they see it as the best way to get around town. And there isn't as much stigma attached to it.
What would it take for them to ride the bus? Convenience, wait time, and cost. If you could go to anywhere you needed with only a one- to five-minute wait, more people would ride the bus. Have vans or buses be feeders to the main routes.
Tax incentives or some other type of incentive could be given to people who bike, use public transit or car pool.
Darrow Hand, Honolulu
Side streets could absorb more traffic
As a commuter from Wahiawa to Manoa each weekday, I often wonder why someone doesn't do more to make the side streets run smoother and faster. If we had improved systems of moving traffic on side streets, commuters running from the North Shore into Pearl would likely traverse them rather than the H-2 and H-1 freeways.
These mini streets can be a significant means of alleviating traffic from west to east and back.
Kay Yamada
Upgrade of buses would draw riders
Instead of the rattly, jumpy, sometimes noisy down-market city buses, why not use the comfortable, well-lit, less jumpy tourist buses that ferry visitors around this island that could be leased for commute times only?
Let's have a smartly dressed hostess or host on each bus. Let's do a deal with Starbucks where the hostess would serve free coffee on these more up-market buses.
Cocktail service on the way home? Probably not. But why not soft drinks and snacks. Maybe down the road, there could be a shoulder massage service on the way home for a fee. Regardless, more welcoming and thanking at every opportunity.
David Cheever
