Advertiser to O'ahu voters: Get out of the way. The rail is coming through.

Unfortunately, that is the message The Advertiser and some others are sending to O'ahu residents who want to vote on the estimated $3.7 billion rail transit plan. They have come to the conclusion that Lt. Gov. James R. "Duke" Aiona Jr.'s call for the City Council to exercise its authority to put the rail plan on the ballot is "off base."

The public supposedly should not have a say in what will be the most expensive project in the history of the state.

There were public hearings, so that should have been enough.

There may be a transit authority, so that should be enough.

But give the people the right to vote? No way.

The City and County of Honolulu has been debating rail for decades, but not once have the people of O'ahu been allowed to vote on the issue. Most of the reports detailing the current rail plan have only become available after the last general election, yet some say we're past the point of a public vote.

As a resident of Kapolei, the lieutenant governor respectfully disagrees.

He believes the people of O'ahu are best suited to decide if the rail plan is the right investment of taxpayer money.

And the City Council, with the mayor's approval, has the authority to make it happen.

The City Council could propose a charter amendment by a two-thirds majority council vote on three separate days to place the rail plan on the November ballot.

On Wednesday, the council took the first step, voting 9-0 in favor of the charter amendment. Two more votes in favor of the charter amendment, and the public will have its say.

It sounds simple, but the political will must be there to make it happen.

Stop Rail Now, a group of citizens opposed to rail and train transit, has gathered more than 40,000 signatures to place a measure on the ballot that would indefinitely prohibit rail transit, but the city clerk contends the measure would require a special election with a price tag up to $2 million.

Sooner or later, Stop Rail Now will submit enough signatures to force a vote, so why not place the current rail plan on the November ballot and save time and taxpayer money?

Whether O'ahu residents are for or against rail, a public vote would allow the people to decide the matter once and for all.

Stop Rail Now has already said it would give up its opposition if voters approve the proposed rail transit system.

Proponents of rail would be buoyed by a public endorsement in the City Charter, which would outlast the present city administration and mandate continued progress on rail from subsequent city administrations.

If the mayor is re-elected, what other guarantees would we have in case he does not serve his full term, which he has not said he will do?

If the ballot measure passes, what greater vote of confidence could we show the federal government to secure the appropriate funding?

While the lieutenant governor views rail transit as a potential transportation alternative, he has raised some serious questions about the current rail transit proposal.

However, he strongly believes that a well-crafted charter amendment will provide a clear direction for rail on O'ahu and put the authority back in the hands of the people, where a project of this magnitude belongs.

If O'ahu voters could be asked in the 2006 General Election whether the City Charter should be amended to include bike paths in the transit plan, they should be permitted to vote on what is likely to be the most expensive public works project in state history.

Advocates on both sides of the issue have expressed confidence that they have the support of the people.

But we'll never know, and the highly charged rhetoric will only continue unless the people of O'ahu are allowed to vote.

Travis Taylor is the communications director for the Office of the Lieutenant Governor. He wrote this commentary for The Advertiser.