TRAFFIC SAFETY

WALKING, CYCLING SCARY ON O'AHU'S ROADWAYS

Rob Perez's series on pedestrian fatalities was stellar.

Living on an island, we have so much at stake in our attempt to be green. With gas prices at an all-time high, there is a movement for many to start walking, riding bikes or use other two- wheeled high-mileage vehicles. The thing that will stop this movement in its tracks is safety concerns.

It sounds romantic to do something good for the planet and yourself and get on your bike or walk more.

Just try it. I've been trapped in an elevator for five hours, taken far out to sea by a riptide, I've even been shot at by L.A. street gangs. But nothing scares me as much as crossing King Street or riding my bike on Nimitz as I make my way to town from the Leeward side.

No bike lane, no sidewalk and no aloha. You get sunburned, you arrive to work sweaty, and you just wonder why you do this as the solo-driven gas-guzzling SUVs whisk by you 25 mph over the speed limit.

I urge HPD to send out an undercover officer on a bicycle and just watch how many infractions take place around cyclists. Get out to some of our high-risk crosswalks and watch how many drivers disregard the rules of the road, don't just wait for AARP to do it for you. Ticket pedestrians who cross against the light. Remind people to use their blinkers. Please, you have a lot of work to do.

For the rest of us, never mind green, stay in your car. It's a war out there.

TRANSIT

TORONTO STEEL-ON-STEEL IS QUIET, CONVENIENT

My wife and I recently made our sixth visit to Hawai'i. We spent most of our time on O'ahu.

We do not rent a car because of your transit system. Coming from Toronto, we are used to a multi-modal transportation system. My wife and I have made many trips to both ends of O'ahu at different times of the day and night. We have noticed a tremendous increase in traffic congestion all day long. I would much rather have spent time on the beach, enjoying the sights and scenery, or shopping than stuck on TheBus, as convenient as it is.

It is about time that the island stepped into the present or maybe even the future when it comes to public transportation. I was born and raised in Toronto and live within easy access to buses, streetcars and the subway.

After reading your newspaper and the agonizing debate over steel-on-steel, all I can say is if Honolulu wants to send a message of an urban forward-thinking city, it should act on proven technologies, such as those in Toronto.

The noise of buses, motorcycles, hot-rod cars, honking horns are more disturbing than the perceived noise from steel-on-steel.

Steel-on-steel in Toronto is one of the most convenient ways to travel throughout our great city. A multi-modal approach, as planned, can move residents and tourists around the island quickly, safely and comfortably.

Here's hoping that we can jump on the train when we arrive at Honolulu International Airport the next time we arrive.

STEEL-ON-STEEL IS BEST CHOICE FOR NEW SYSTEM

I share this brief message with you in an effort to support the proposal for the steel-on-steel rail system put forth by Mayor Mufi Hannemann.

First, let us acknowledge that taking zero action on the traffic congestion problem that commuters face is simply not an option. This issue does not revolve around whether or not something should be done, but rather which technology will be our solution.

When trying to select the appropriate solution for our island, it seems only logical to look at the following categorical considerations: economic impact, environmental impact, social impact, efficiency of the technology and success of the technology in other cities.

After dwelling on those considerations, the logical choice seems to be to support steel-on-steel.

CLICK IT OR TICKET

SEAT BELTS SHOULD BE IN PICKUP TRUCK BEDS

The May 16 letter on Click It or Ticket by Bill Romerhaus ("Priorities mixed up on seat belt requirement") was right on the money.

How can legislators allow people to ride in the back of pickup trucks unbelted?

Pickup beds don't have belts because they were made to carry cargo, not humans. As everyone knows, four women were killed in Kunia riding to work in a pickup truck during the 2006 Legislature. They were thrown out like missiles onto the road in the collision with a cement truck. Not one lawmaker even said or did anything to stop this insanity on our roads.

If these poor women had been in a vehicle with seat belts maybe one or even all of them might be here today with their loved ones.

Why doesn't the newspaper cover this insanity on the front page and embarrass these phony politicians?

Do you think these lawmakers would allow their daughters, mothers, wives or even close loved ones to ride in pickup beds? I doubt it.

These tragedies will happen again, and these lawmakers should be held accountable.

Last year and this year, the bill to ban this practice was not even heard.

If they don't care for our children having seatbelts on school buses, why would they care for everyone else?

OCEAN

RESOURCE MANAGEMENT MUST BE TAUGHT IN ISLES

While at the beach the other day, I witnessed once again an all-too-common scene here in Hawai'i: a "recreational fisherman" spearing baby fish with his newly purchased three-pronged spear.

It made me think of my father, who taught me as a child the basic teachings of Hawaiian ocean resource management. These were the same teachings he was taught from his father and grandmother.

He would say things like, "Only catch what you can eat. Whatever you catch, you better eat. Don't catch the small ones." These are a just a few of the simple teachings, but it is these simple teachings that have sustained the valuable ocean resources of Hawai'i for generations.

Unfortunately, many have not been taught the simple ocean resource management teachings that have been taught here in Hawai'i for hundreds of generations. No one has taught them to respect the ocean and its resources. No one has taught them to take only what they need. No one has taught them that if you take all the small ones today, there won't be any big ones to take tomorrow.

There is an old Hawaiian proverb that states, "Ua lehulehu a manomano ka 'ikena a ka Hawai'i." It translates, "Great and numerous is the knowledge of the Hawaiians." It is this knowledge that is badly needed today by all who seek to harvest from our precious ocean's resources. Without it, what little we have may soon be gone.

FUEL COSTS

WHY IS AMERICA NOT GETTING MORE IRAQ OIL?

On last Saturday's front page there was a story about President Bush asking Saudi Arabia to increase oil production to ease fuels costs.

Why do we have to ask another Arab nation for oil when Iraq is also an oil producer?

We are spending billions of dollars on the war, and it seems Iraqi oil is not part of that country's payback to supplement the war debt.

Where is the Iraqi oil going and who is benefiting from it?