Advocating
Accountability & Wise Transportation Solutions
The O`ahu
Coalition for Affordable & Flexible Transit advocates construction of
the most technologically advanced, affordable, flexible, convenient, and safest
mass transit system within the limited means of O`ahuÕs small tax base. Recognizing the great cultural
diversity of our island home, our coalition includes local organizations and
individuals who believe that our rail system must be built in harmony with
every rural community and urban area that it is intended to serve.
To ensure this harmony, our rail system must be
capable of operating either at ground level (at-grade) or elevated. We believe that at-grade construction
will be preferable in many areas, while other areas may require elevated
construction, and that such a flexible system, using newer, proven, and
readily-available light-rail technology could be built faster and at lower
cost. In addition, such a flexible system could eventually serve more
communities, would be more-compatible with historic
districts and would require less maintenance than the currently proposed
all-elevated rail system.
We believe that such a flexible system would have the
fewest negative environmental, social, and cultural impacts during and after
construction, and that these attributes will also reduce the estimated $5.4
billion (or more likely $8 to 9 billion due to inevitable cost overruns and
construction delays) economic impact of an inflexible, all-elevated rail system
which cannot be safely brought to grade because of the high potential for human
and animal electrocution by its outmoded ÒhotÓ third-rail technology.
We remain greatly concerned about the proposed
all-elevated rail system due to its high costs, long construction time,
immediate and future impact on adjacent agricultural lands, the likely
disturbance of Hawaiian burial sites, massive cutting and displacement of
hundreds of ÒnotableÓ and other trees, physical damage to historic sites and
their surroundings, obstruction of mauka-makai views, bisecting neighborhoods and divided towns, and
impeding access to the Honolulu waterfront from downtown streets.
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e are not alone in voicing these concerns, and the
all-elevated rail system as presently proposed is heavily criticized in
many-dozens of letters of comment made to the recent Draft Environmental Impact
Statement including those from:
Moreover, additional concerns about
the security and vulnerability of public buildings have been raised in writing
by the U.S. District Court, the U.S. Marshal for the District of Hawai'i, and
the U.S. General Services Administration. Additionally, the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency has raised significant questions about the
projectÕs impact on OahuÕs water quality, aquatic resources, and important
wetlands. These and the many other letters voicing similar concerns can be
viewed at http://belammc.com/pdfs/HHCTCPDraftEIS.pdf
NOTE: This 1389-page file will take several
minutes to load in your browser.
The proposed all-elevated rail system and its massive
stations – all two-thirds the length of a football field and looming from
40 to 90 feet overhead – would be a visually intrusive, monolithic
concrete structure extending for 20 miles, and eventually 29 miles, slicing
through O`ahuÕs landscape. Regardless of
how these massive concrete structures are designed, painted, and decorated,
they will require expensive, long-term maintenance and repair, similar to the
Aloha Stadium.
According to all available data, the proposed
all-elevated rail system will cost $270 million per mile to construct, while
the at-grade system would cost $70 million per mile. Using the newest light rail technology with its
easily-accessible low-floor cars and its safe, new wireless intermittent
electric power supply operating at-grade for one-half the 20-mile segment would
save $2 billion from the initial $5.4 billion all-elevated system.
In addition, future at-grade extensions could be
easily extended to the UH and Waikiki as well as to areas like Ewa Beach, Ko
Olina, Nanakuli, Mililani, and Wahiawa.
In addition, knowledgeable engineers advise us the at-grade rail
system requires grading only 18Ó to 24Ó in depth to install, whereas the
elevated rail construction requires excavation up to 10-feet deep and
with very deep footings every 150 feet for support
columns. As
planned, the construction will likely disturb Hawaiian burial sites and will
require the relocation and/or major reconstruction of existing utilities and
roadways. This drastic course of
action holds great potential to produce another Boston ÒBig DigÓ mega-project
financial fiasco, running years behind schedule and monstrously
over-budget. O`ahuÕs small
population and limited tax base can ill afford this very real risk.
HawaiÔi's recent unfortunate
SuperFerry EIS experience has sent a clear message that, before the Honolulu
City Council commits any of its citizensÕ hard-earned tax dollars to pay for
construction of any portion of the rail project, the Federal Transit
Administration (FTA) must first approve the CityÕs final Environmental Impact
Statement (EIS) and issue a federal ÒRecord of DecisionÓ on the project to
demonstrate that the EIS process has been completed. In order for the City's expenditures on the
first phase (East Kapolei to Pearl Highlands) of the project prior to issuance
of a final EIS and a subsequent
entering into the federal ÒFull Funding Grant Agreement,Ó the FTA would have to
issue a ÒLetter of No PrejudiceÓ to the City and County of Honolulu.
In short, circumventing this
legally required EIS process and beginning construction with no assurance of
federal funds will ultimately jeopardize any federal funds anticipated by the
city.
On Wednesday, June 10, 2009, the City Council
will probably move ahead with the proposed rail project without either the
necessary federal environmental approvals or a written federal funding
commitment. The result of this action would be that the issuance of
$1.1 billion in bonds, together with the future interest, would require
repayment entirely by the OÔahu taxpayers, with a possible denial of any and
all currently anticipated federal funding.
We believe that the following principles must be acknowledged by
the City Council before any contracts are awarded by the City
Administration, which would commit our small county's future generations to a
very expensive, irreversible, and inflexible course of action:
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e fully concur with The American Institute of
Architects-Honolulu Chapter Public Policy Statement on Transportation. http://www.aiahonolulu.org/displaycommon.cfm?an=1&subarticlenbr=261
This ethical, professional statement encourages
providing and promoting the following:
á
Òthe use of social, environment, and aesthetic
criteria as well as economic efficiency in the design of routes and supporting
facilities for all transit modesÓ
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Òsafe and healthy environments for transit
passengers, pedestrians and neighborhood residents along the transit routeÓ
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Òsafe and easy accessibilityÓ
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Òsustainable planning, design, and operationÓ
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ÒIn keeping with sustainable practices, transit
systems and facilities should offer the ability to meet present needs without
compromising those of future generations.Ó
Current Coalition Members
At this writing, many other boards, executive
directors, and individuals are deliberating joining us and we will be updating
this list accordingly.
Hawai`i
Advocates For Consumer Rights
http://www.scottfoster.org/afcr/
Hawai`i
Independent Democrats
http://hawaiiindependentdemocrats.org/
League
of Women Voters-Honolulu
http://www.lwv-hawaii.com/honolulu.htm
Hawaii's
1000 Friends
http://www.hawaiis1000friends.org/
Mr. Randy Ching
Mr. Geoffrey Paterson,
AIA Emeritus
Please advise Scott Foster fosters005@hawaii.rr.com
to add your name, title, and/or organization
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