Dissatisfaction about an O'ahu mass transit route recommendation that leaves out a large swath of the 'Ewa plains has spurred an alternate proposal just days before a final City Council vote on Friday.

"I think the people in 'Ewa are very unhappy about the current proposal," said City Councilman Todd Apo, who yesterday finalized a proposal that will go before the City Council during its Friday meeting.

"I've been inundated with e-mail. I'm going to keep pushing to get it back to what I believe is the better route for West O'ahu."

Apo, who represents the Kapolei, 'Ewa, Leeward Coast area, is asking the council to reconsider a route rejected by its Transportation Committee, which after a marathon meeting chose a route that has some Kapolei and 'Ewa residents crying foul. Apo's route is also that recommended by the city administration.

Yesterday's action is a clear indication that the final look for O'ahu mass transit is far from decided, and previews the type of wrangling that could continue through Friday's scheduled vote.

Apo said he proposed that the council reconsider the option of traveling along Saratoga Avenue/North-South Road. The council is on the brink of giving final approval for a 28-mile transit project from Kapolei to the University of Hawai'i-Manoa, with the possibility of a spur to Waikiki, at a cost of about $4.6 billion.

Councilwoman Ann Kobayashi is one of the committee members who opted for a route that bypasses much of 'Ewa.

"We decided to do the traffic corridor route, which is from point A to point B," Kobayashi said yesterday, noting that the Hannemann administration's proposed route was only a recommendation and that the route won't be final until Friday.

"We can always do the other routes later," she said. " The best thing to do is to build the main trunk and then add the separate lines as time goes on."

Other communities — including Wai'anae, Waipahu and Mililani — also have requested that the transit corridor go through their neighborhoods, but without much success, Kobayashi said.

Mayor Mufi Hannemann also has been hearing from West O'ahu. Spokesman Bill Brennan said the mayor took part in the 'Ewa Beach Christmas parade Saturday night, and many people asked him to extend the route so they could use it.

"The administration still believes that's the better route," Brennan said. But Hannemann also remains optimistic that the council is closing in on the last vote needed before the transit program can begin. "What we need from them is selection of a locally preferred alternative," he said.

After the city gives that OK, the administration can take the proposal to the Federal Transportation Administration for the go-ahead for the next phase, which is preliminary engineering. Transit has been debated for decades in Honolulu but never passed.

Apo's latest proposal leaves both choices alive: Saratoga Avenue/North-South Road or Kamokila Boulevard, as determined by the city administration.

Apo said his suggestion best serves the planned future development of Kapolei as well as the existing 'Ewa-'Ewa Beach communities. Without that relief, he said, many residents of that part of the island say the project doesn't make sense. "It's a major portion of the traffic problem they we're trying to solve," he said.

The Transportation Committee last week agreed to include choices for the airport or Salt Lake alignment, holding out hope for Apo that some choice could be on the Kapolei/'Ewa route as well.

Overall, Apo said he thought support seems broad for the rest of the transit route as currently described in the mass transit bill's latest draft.

Reach Robbie Dingeman at rdingeman@honoluluadvertiser.com.