Top Traffic Tangles

It's hard to believe the traffic headaches we have, living on an island with less than a million residents. So from the "Zipper Lane" to the ridiculous new BRT proposal (bus-only surface lanes), the problem inspires a lot of dreaming and plotting.

The latest to surface is actually an old idea: reversing Pensacola and Piikoi street traffic. I agree that Piikoi at rush-hour is about the worst you can get in this state, but I doubt a flip-flop would do more than move the problem over a block.

Any thoughts on this particular idea? Any other motorist-maddening hotspots (or hare-brained fixes) on your hitlist? Anyone else agree that we should've just bitten the bullet and gone ahead with light-rail 20 years ago?

Comments

Long before Rene Mansho had her ethics questioned, I was angry with her about her deciding vote against light rail 20 years ago. I hold political grudges a long time; I refused to vote for Clarice Hashimoto in my district for years, because she came out for Initiative, Referendum and Recall pre-Con Con in 1978, and then voted against it during the convention.

I've always been amazed that H-1 is jammed from Red Hill going Diamond Head until you get to the Aala Street overpass, when it magically clears up. It's been like that since 1980, and probably long before.

Long before Rene Mansho had her ethics questioned, I was angry with her about her deciding vote against light rail 20 years ago. I hold political grudges a long time; I refused to vote for Clarice Hashimoto in my district for years, because she came out for Initiative, Referendum and Recall pre-Con Con in 1978, and then voted against it during the convention.

I've always been amazed that H-1 is jammed from Red Hill going Diamond Head until you get to the Aala Street overpass, when it magically clears up. It's been like that since 1980, and probably long before.

As a former Bay Area resident, I'm all for rapid rail transport.

However, I've heard and observed a few things in my birth state:

1. If you build it, they will ride.
Nope, not quite. The rail system has to link people effectively and efficiently to the places they wish to go. Case in point: LA subway. It doesn't work too well because it doesn't go to the right places.

Here, I think a light rail would have to link downtown and surrounding high-density residential areas at a minimum. Throw in Waikiki and UH Manoa and it might actually be useful.

2. Feeder systems are needed as well. Leeward freeway traffic is horrendous, but the distance is too great for light rail. Something must be done on that front as well.

3. Short-term disruption.
Existing traffic would be disrupted for years while the system was beign constructed. People, and politicians, don't have that kind of long term vision. Tell them things are going to get darker before dawn, and they'll quickly veto the idea of short-term suffering for long-term gain.

4. Money and time.
With budgetary problems already plaguing the state, how will money be raised for construction? High ticket prices will just be a barrier to use, so taxes will have to be raised somehow. Not to mention, the project would surely exceed budget, leaving sections hanging for years.

5. Housing and cash flow.
It's amazing what rapid transit can do to housing prices. Build a rail extension, and prices rise, forcing lower-income people out to the fringes and further decreasing their potential to compete for employment. Likewise, rail systems disrupt the existing cash flow, with people spending their money in different places. This tends to hurt small businesses, and makes poor areas poorer.

6. Acceptance.
It can take decades for people to get used to the idea of rapid transit. It's hard to break some habits, and the unfamiliar alternatives have a high acceptance barrier.

Of course, it's always easier to look back and say if only way back when we'd done something, things wouldn't be as bad today. Somehow we don't tend to apply that to the present day- if we fix it now, things will be better in 20 years.

What truly saddens me is how there are so many examples we can look at on the mainland. We have an ability many other states do not, which is to see the future and plan appropriately for it. Yet, I have not seen any evidence that our government has realized this and used it to our advantage.

I won't go as far as a friend of mine who said, "A huge hurricane would solve all our problems- we could start from scratch this time, and do things right", but I don't have much hope for traffic improvement here as things now stand.

Dude! Hurricane would rock!

(Excuse me -- I'm feeling a bit silly at the moment.)

Reversing Pi`ikoi and Pensacola? Bleah. Someone down there in the Transportation Dept. ought to hele-on up here to the corner of Highway 290 and Lamar Blvd. and watch how the lights work.

I don't know. Ever since I saw how well BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit) works, I've always wanted to have something similar for O'ahu. A subway system? Ferries? Bus-only lanes? I have no idea which one would solve our traffic woes.

And its frustrating when legislators don't give a rip about real people before proposing inane "solutions" like the Piikoi/Pensacola switch.

Along with all the trouble our lawmakers have been getting into, is it any wonder why I hate politicians so much?

I was obsessed with light-rail when I was younger. And the local battle lasted for years — I used it as fodder for school projects in elementary, intermediate, and high school, and still have two boxes of materials, including beautiful artist renderings and maps (And to folks who fought rail because it was ugly, I ask: Is the Airport Viaduct any prettier?) and newspaper clippings, saved somewhere.

We had a great chance then, with tens of millions of matching federal funds waiting to be spent. But our elected officials didn't have the guts, the fed options dried up, and now we may probably never be able to afford it. Not without The Hurricane Alternative, at least! (How's that for federal funds?)

I agree, Lisa, that caution is needed, but a Civil Engineering 101 student could tell you Hawaii has been begging for mass/rapid transit since H-1 was "completed" in the late 60s. The best and worst of Honolulu is conveniently oriented along a high-density corridor from Salt Lake through Downtown as far as Kahala.

On disruption, I would say Honolulu residents would survive. After all, we've suffered through a full resurfacing of H-1, various realignments and widening (such as the six-to-seven lane H-1 Ewa-bound project in Aiea — yeesh!)... And if you compare what you'd face, temporarily, building a suspended rail system, versus the current ass-backwards BRT plan, it's an easy choice.

(I almost said 'no-brainer,' but sadly that excludes many of our government officials. They're busy digging themselves out of scandals to worry about public works.)

I have little hope of an ambitious, extensive transit upgrade on this island in my lifetime. In the short-term, I'm resigned to instead wish our Second City visionaries in Kapolei lots of luck. It ain't perfect, but compared to most things here, that 'long-term concept' is doing better than most.

Ryan- I think LR is an excellent idea. I guess what I'm trying to say is that we don't have the right sort of brilliant, visionary politician to carry it off. I nominate you- why not make a run for City Council, work your way up to Mayor or Governor, and get things done? I'm quite serious. I'd gladly do whatever I could to support you.

Lisa, you know not what you say. Heh. I grew up in politics and have it in my blood, and I've even demonstrated... tendencies in the past.

But, I've my share of skeletons, and further, a family that would probably kill me if I ever actually ran for office. Besides, my strategy would be to tell the truth, and frankly, voters won't stand for that. For now, I'll concentrate on getting a friend elected to office (!), and doing my small part to keep Jeremy Harris out of the State Capitol.

Speaking of elections and Jeremy Heresy, any thoughts on the folks running for his old job in Honolulu Hale? I hear Duke Bainum already has the support of a good chunk of the Filipino community here.

Well, first on the Piikoi-Pensacola flip-flop: It actually makes quite a bit of sense. On the stretch on Lunalilo between Piikoi and Pensacola, you have two streams of traffic fighting with each other...traffic coming off the H-1 Ewa-bound onto Pensacola makai-bound in lanes 1 and 2, and traffic coming off Piikoi mauka-bound trying to get into lane 3 to get onto H-1 Ewa bound. Switch directions, and the traffic trying to get onto the H-1 will remain confined to Pensacola without having that damned crossover. True, the line will still probably extend all the way down to Kapiolani Blvd., but it still seems more efficient than how it is currently.

bart in bay area is loud and at this moment i believe the fare is close to $9.00 for a round trip from union city or fremont to san francisco. it was built when everything was nothing but cauliflower and other crop lands and other wise barren area, where the property values werent very high and where there was alot of space for big parking lots FOR commuters to park. if we try to do this here, now, a lot of people and their valuable property will be facing condemnation and if an exchange or land swap was even offered, where would they go. the bart was buit and the suburbs grew around it, just like wal mart stores. Unless they are going to put the thing under ground as it is in san fran. then it may work other wise fogetaboutit.

bart in bay area is loud and at this moment I believe the fare is close to $9.00 maybe because of low ridership. I was just on it and very few were on at about 9:00AM.For a round trip from union city or fremont,the last stop,about 15 miles, to san francisco. it was built when everything was nothing but cauliflower and other crop lands,and other wise barren area, where the property values werent very high and where there was alot of space for big parking lots FOR commuters to park. if we try to do this here, now, a lot of people and their valuable property will be facing condemnation and if an exchange or land swap was even offered, where would they go. the bart was buit and the suburbs grew around it, just like wal mart stores. Unless they are going to put the thing under ground as it is in san fran. then it may work.Other wise fogetaboutit.

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