Transit solutions can be pint-sized
Giving this crowded island a mass transit system that works is a big job that will take many years and cost a bundle. But there are smaller improvements that could be done in a hurry and at a relatively low cost.
Think of it the same way you would do a smaller project. Nobody would put off restriping the road or posting clearer signs just because a highway's due to be widened in a few years, for example.
Nor should we wait on transportation quick-fixes while politicians and voters discuss big-ticket alternatives, such as rail or freeway enhancements.
The Advertiser's current Community Editorial Board, a panel of six O'ahu residents that meets for an eight-week term, agreed. And they put together a list of smaller, sensible projects that should be considered now. Here are a few of their thoughts:
Posting routes and times on signs at bus stops would be a good start. Few other major cities are as lacking in bus-stop user guides. Even an artery-style diagram that simply marks the stops on the route in bold colors would be a plus.
And, as helpful as the bus system's telephone advice line may be, it would be great to have a Web site that generates bus-route instructions — how to get from Point A to Point B — in the same way that sites like Mapquest.com deliver driving directions.
It's going to take every idea, every strategy we've got, from expensive people-movers to simple improvements, to loosen the traffic logjam that's already turned island commuting into a whopping headache.
