The vote on Honolulu's rail transit project split along geographic lines, with voters who live closer to the planned 20-mile route from East Kapolei to Ala Moana favoring rail by the largest margins.

Voters approved rail transit 53 percent to 47 percent in a significant endorsement of the largest public-works project in city history. An Advertiser analysis of the vote by state House district, however, shows an island divided.

In traffic-choked Central and Leeward O'ahu, particularly in Waipahu, 'Ewa Beach, Kapolei, Mililani and Pearl City, voters backed the project by wide margins. But the vote was much closer near Downtown, Waikiki and out in Wai'anae, and voters broke against rail in East Honolulu and on the Windward side.

The divide could create challenges for the city as it moves forward with the $4.3 billion to $4.5 billion project.

O'ahu residents are paying a general excise tax surcharge to help finance rail, and a sinking economy, disputes over the route, and the inevitable headaches of more than a decade of construction will require a collective effort for the project to flourish.

Environmental and legal protests to H-3 Freeway linking Kane'ohe to Pearl Harbor delayed the project for years and helped make the highway among the most expensive ever built in the United States. H-3, which also divided the island largely on geographic lines, never went before voters.

"As far as I'm concerned, the people have spoken," Mayor Mufi Hannemann said. "And I think, over time, they will appreciate that this was the best solution. And I've said I will reach out. I will continue to see where we can get some common ground here.

"I don't want to see another H-3 occurring, where too much time was spent on delays, on lawsuits, on controversy, where we spent much more than we should have. And look at H-3 today. Everybody loves H-3."

VOTE WAS CLOSE

City Councilman Charles Djou, who represents East Honolulu and has opposed rail, said the vote showed the community is narrowly divided. He said he respected the decision of voters and would work with others on the council and with the city to bridge the divide.

Djou said last week he would be open to a route that includes Honolulu International Airport, rather than running through Salt Lake, because, he said, it would make more sense. The Salt Lake route was adopted by the council as a compromise to get the swing vote of City Councilman Romy Cachola, whose district includes Salt Lake.

"Even if we all don't necessarily agree on the wisdom to do this project, we all can at least respect how it is done," Djou said.

SOME BALK AT STEEL

Barbara Ankersmit, the president of QMark Research, asked voters mass-transit related questions as part of her polling for Hannemann's re-election campaign. She said there was general support for rapid transit but a slight drop-off when voters were asked about the ballot question on a steel-on-steel rail project.

Ankersmit said support for rail was stronger after the primary and then narrowed before increasing again before the general election.

"People wanted a solution, but I think that there were so many things said about steel-on-steel that they became worried about the solution, about the way the ballot issue was worded," she said.

Older people concerned about money were not quite as in favor of rail, Ankersmit said, while younger people and two-income families, especially those living in Central and Leeward O'ahu, had higher interest.

Supporters of the rail project substantially outspent opponents on campaign advertising and also benefited from Hannemann's more aggressive get-out-the-vote drive compared with during the primary. The city also spent taxpayer money in the months before the vote on ads explaining the project.

OPPOSITION REGROUPS

Mike Uechi, a doctor and co-chairman of Stop Rail Now, said he was happy with the closeness of the vote, given the opposition did not have the resources to mount an extensive get-out-the-vote campaign. He said he could not say what the next steps are for opponents other than to continue to monitor the project.

"I think we're going to look at the draft EIS (environmental impact statement) and see where that's going to take us," he said.

City Councilman Nestor Garcia said the divide means the city needs to continue to educate people about the project and be inclusive in planning.

"I've always tried to make people understand that we're all in this together," said Garcia, whose district includes Waipahu, Makakilo and Mililani. "I want people to understand that those of us on the west don't necessarily want to say that this is our project and you should vote for it because now it's our turn.

"I don't like to couch it in those terms."