Rail to alter landscape - News

Living in East Honolulu, I'm neither for nor against rail. Having said that, my concerns are as follows.
1. Initial reports from the city hired consultants stated that the fixed rail system would do little, if anything, to reduce traffic congestion. The EIS summary and Draft EIS paints an entirely different scenario. What changed?
2. Annual operating cost are estimated to run between 109 to 172 million. Where will that money come from, higher property taxes, increased fees, etc?
Come on Mr. Mayor, tell us, up front and the truth.

I go through this everytime it comes down to the primary. Finally Nov. 4 is upon us and when I think about it I detest that we have really just 2 choices. In looking over the candidates and the mug-slingging and crap they are doing to each other its almost like being in kindergarten again. Politicians are probably the worst individuals in the world. They say 1 thing and when we believe them and vote them in its another story, and they FORGET what they said before being elected. Heres the catch when they get elected its almost impossible to get rid of them till next election where we FORGET what crap they gave us and vote them in again. Don't FORGET to vote guys I know I won't FORGET and lets hope that they don't FORGET

Big J-Hawaii Kai wrote:

Living in East Honolulu, I'm neither for nor against rail. Having said that, my concerns are as follows.
1. Initial reports from the city hired consultants stated that the fixed rail system would do little, if anything, to reduce traffic congestion. The EIS summary and Draft EIS paints an entirely different scenario. What changed?
2. Annual operating cost are estimated to run between 109 to 172 million. Where will that money come from, higher property taxes, increased fees, etc?
Come on Mr. Mayor, tell us, up front and the truth.

HIGHER PROPERTY TAXES AND A INCREASE IN THE GENERAL EXCISE TAX - THIS IS ALL ABOUT DEVELOPMENT PLAIN AND SIMPLE - we are running out of water, shipping our garbage to Seattle...why not put 45,000 plus homes in Kapolei and 27 Condos in Kakaako?...its all ridiculous even made more silly in a declining economy!!!!!!!!!VOTE NO ON RAIL

I take it that both the Starbulletin and Advertiser are against Rail. This is deduced by the fact that every morning they are running negative title. I would like to see some day a positive title.
I don't live on Oahu but I see rail as a positive for the next generation that this generation will have to pay for. This is similar to when the H1, H2, H3 went in. Hard love today for tomorrow.

I.....ve been working on a rail.......road
All the live long dayss....sss

I.....ve been working on a rail......road
Just to take your tax away......y

Can't you see your taxes ri......sing...
Sell your home today..........

Kawika wrote:

I take it that both the Starbulletin and Advertiser are against Rail. This is deduced by the fact that every morning they are running negative title. I would like to see some day a positive title.
I don't live on Oahu but I see rail as a positive for the next generation that this generation will have to pay for. This is similar to when the H1, H2, H3 went in. Hard love today for tomorrow.

You can't write something positive about something that is so negative.

Four and a half billion dollars!!!!!! Wow and that's in today's dollars. What is it going to cost in two years -- 6 billion?

What's wrong with my math now you railhead bozos?

Now we know what mufi had to hide in the EIS. The total cost of the rail and the fact that the GET will not be enough to sustain building the rail and even maintaining and operating it. That means revenue will have to be made up from two other places. One of those is your property tax. mufi's only selling point on the rail right now is that it will create jobs. So who will benefit? Traffic, environment, your pocket book, or your eventual quality of life? I see only a the contractors who win the contracts and their employees. Everybody else will pay through their noses.

Big J-Hawaii Kai wrote:

2. Annual operating cost are estimated to run between 109 to 172 million. Where will that money come from, higher property taxes, increased fees, etc?
Come on Mr. Mayor, tell us, up front and the truth.

That's actually in the DEIS.

Big J-Hawaii Kai wrote:

Living in East Honolulu, I'm neither for nor against rail. Having said that, my concerns are as follows.
1. Initial reports from the city hired consultants stated that the fixed rail system would do little, if anything, to reduce traffic congestion. The EIS summary and Draft EIS paints an entirely different scenario. What changed?
2. Annual operating cost are estimated to run between 109 to 172 million. Where will that money come from, higher property taxes, increased fees, etc?
Come on Mr. Mayor, tell us, up front and the truth.

How can you be a fence sitter on an issue that will impact generations to come? Even if YOU can afford to pay for it, will your children or your grandchildren afford the additional tax burden? How will it affect the quality of life.

The jobs the DEIS talks about are only temporary jobs. Once the project is complete, the construction jobs are gone. No postive gain there.
There will be large influx of workers from the mainland to work on this project which will further stress our already tight rental market. Just as when all the construction started up on the military bases.
And why hasn't the whole DEIS been released. Looks like Mufi selectively released only those tidbits that reinforce his rhetoric.

how can anyone vote for this. It will not relieve congestion.

construction cost will skyrocket
there are no one to manage this project properly
there will always be law suits afterward due to contractor overun and no one will be held responsible.

19 rail station stops plus fighting traffic to get to the rail station will increase commute time
there is no need for 19 rail stations.

those who are taking the bus already will not alleviate traffic. It will only be redirected to the rail station from bus lines.

look at The Boat. there are no parking at the pier.
One has to either drive or take the bus to kapolei
then take the bus to the pier and then wait for the boat and then when you get to town , you have to wait for another bus.
it was a waste of money to server 400 people maximum and 4 times the commute time

vote no on rail

vote no on mufi

Dillingham Boulevard to be shut down during construction? True if you can believe the city's statement: "Several homes along Dillingham Boulevard may also be acquired because the city needs to widen the road by 10 feet to accommodate the system." Hold on to your hat, expect years of construction and steel plates on a road that was just recently repaved. As past experience has shown, once the city tears up a roadway they are in no hurry to get the work done. Watermain work took years and disrupted businesses near Waikiki, Dillingham will be no different. We should require the mayor to move to a trailer along the construction path so he can see what his choo-choo is doing to our city and the residents. Just another day in the Nei.

All the hand-wringing about six illegal homes in Kahana being removed, but where is the rallying for the eighty or more homes that are slated for demolition when Mufi's train starts going in? No-one cares about those families?

By the powers of eminent domain, the government has the right to condemn and take any property that is needed for public purpose. People that are affected have to abide by this but by law they are compensated at fair market value by means of appraisal. We have to look at what is best for the general population rather than individual owners. When one agrees to be a citizen under a government, he accepts all the privileges and responsibilities that go with it. Property condemnation for the purpose of allowing the government to effect progress has to be accepted.

The rail project was not the first and will surely not be the last to take homes or other property from people. Road projects in the past took hundreds of homes from residents who thought they had the best and most convenient place to live. When the Lunalilo Freeway (H-1) was built, it took out a huge swath of homes from people. Just observe the houses as you pass Bingham Street. All the land taken for the freeway was filled with homes like those. How about the widening of Moanalua Road in Pearl City where people lost chunks of their back yard and their house is now within spitting distance of the noisy traffic. Everyone should know that there is that risk of comdemnation for whatever public purpose reason when one chooses where to live. But remember, property owners will be compensated fairly.

The rail structure might not be beautiful in the traditional sense but neither are most street level vistas in Honolulu which already are marred by road viaducts, industrial tanks and power plants, and nondescript buildings. The countless hi-rise buildings diminish the natural beauty of the Koolau Mountains, Punchbowl and Diamond Head when viewed from the ocean. Street traffic congested with thousands of cars, trucks and buses is not a pretty sight and also contributes a lot of noise.

These impacts are all the result of progress in the growth of our city. But this is not a bad thing. Whether we like it or not, Honolulu is a major metropolis like other big cities around the world. In this regard, progress is important to quality of life and environmental impacts are a compromise. In my opinion, where we do not compromise in development is in pristine areas such as the North Shore or the neighbor islands. In Honolulu, the rail structure will blend in nicely and with a sleek train is more attractive and has less noise than a street or highway crowded with cars and buses.

PLEASE VOTE YES FOR RAIL AND PROGRESS FOR A BETTER HAWAII!

Lolo wrote:

Now we know what mufi had to hide in the EIS. The total cost of the rail and the fact that the GET will not be enough to sustain building the rail and even maintaining and operating it. That means revenue will have to be made up from two other places. One of those is your property tax. mufi's only selling point on the rail right now is that it will create jobs. So who will benefit? Traffic, environment, your pocket book, or your eventual quality of life? I see only a the contractors who win the contracts and their employees. Everybody else will pay through their noses.

It was pointed out last week that if federal funds are used it will have to be open bids.
Instead of PB doing the job and their employees sending $$$ back to the mainland the Chinese could be building it and buying up Oahu. But of course the unions would get their cut.

Vote NO!!! to rail.
Save the homes of the people the will have to move because of this insane idea!
Vote NO!!! to Mufi!
Lets just increase the buses, to help with the traffic. MORE buses for all the people that ride it. 15 minutes wait, instead of an hour.

Both sides are slanting statistics and reports to favor their stand on the rail issue. The bottom line is, the worst thing that can happen is doing NOTHING. If you do things the same way, you can expect the SAME results. We have to start thinking outside of the box! While rail has been proven in many cities to be effective, they are NOT the "savior" of all traffic congestions. It will take more than just the rail system to help relieve our traffic condition in the future. At best, it will provide an alternative for commuters to escape the traffic on the main vehicular corridors.

To some degree, I agree with some of the solutions suggested by the group apposing a rail system. We will have to improve on our current road and highway systems, and we do need to step up the bus system. Where I differ in opinion is I don't think building MORE roads and highways is feasible. We simply do not have the land area to do so. We can, however, improve our current highways by building vertically. Skyways, fly-over, or fly-by roadways could be built over existing highways. Nimitz Hwy. is a good place to start and portions of Kam Hwy. is another candidate for this type of system. Given that we do build a fixed rail system, the Bus system routes would have to be changed to more of a spoke and hub system that shuttles passengers to and from transit stations to the adjacent communities.

One criticism I have of the City's plan is that it has too many stops. I don't believe we need a stop for every mile of rail. Reducing the number of stations along the route will speed up the commute as well as save on construction costs. It will also reduce the need to condem and displace homes and businesses. I also think the City should not compromise costs for the effectiveness of the system. Too many times in the past we have seen this happen. The last thing we need is a multi-billion dollar system that becomes obsolete before it is even completed.

Yes Master.

Oops, November already?

PLEASE VOTE YES FOR RAIL AND PROGRESS FOR A BETTER HAWAII! QUOTE from 'RAIL IS BETTER'

Is there even one thing that the public has been told the truth about concerning Mufi's folly?

Are you his friend who receives $500,000.00 for writing a newsletter?

Do we really need 5000 new homes to support this thing which will allegedly relieve traffic in 22 years????