honolulutraffic.com

   formerly The Alliance for Traffic Improvement

Seeking cost effective ways to reduce traffic congestion on Oahu

 Why YOU should actively
 oppose the In-Town BRT    

November 4, 2004.
WAIKIKI "IMPROVEMENTS" HAVE RUN AMOK SAYS PBN. They say,  "Now such events are adding to the riot of action in Waikiki, from the street performers, handbillers and vendors who clog sidewalks to the beautification projects that block the thoroughfares. What started as a well-intended initiative has now run amok and there's little that city officials or businesses can do to curb the frenzy.
"Too much of a good thing can be detrimental to the extent that it's a two-edged sword," said Rick Egged, executive director of the Waikiki Improvement Association.  Egged says he's bombarded with complaints from businesses. So is Charles Djou, the city Council representative for the district."  READ "THE REST OF THE STORY"  

October 24, 2004.
PRESS OMITS THE REST OF THE STORY.  On Friday, the press swallowed the Mayor's PR spin whole. In reporting on the Mayor's new buses, the press omits a great deal of the real story. For example, it omits to tell us that Federal Judge Mollway forced a delay in the start date in order to hear our request for a restraining order. Nor that the Mayor's 10 minute time savings between Downtown and Waikiki is nonsense.  READ "THE REST OF THE STORY" 

October 22, 2004.
     MAYOR WRONG ABOUT NEW BUSES.  Introducing the new BRT buses yesterday, the Mayor tells us that they are will ensure a quality environment since "These vehicles have 90 percent less emissions from their exhaust. "What he does not tell you is that the additional exhaust emissions caused by increased traffic congestion in Waikiki more than offsets any possible decreases from the BRT buses.

     MAYOR DISSES TRO. Yesterday on Channel 4 Mayor Harris said our TRO Application to be heard November 1 is irrelevant since only City funds will be used. He wishes. The facts are that the City has always represented to the court that the IOS is part of the larger BRT project and that both involve federal funding. Case law says that you cannot "defederalize" the IOS just by building it with only City funds and hope to escape the requirements of federal law that way.  READ THE DETAILS
We will prevail on this issue at the November 1, 9:00AM Federal Court hearing. Our primary concern is that Harris will ignore the court’s order just as he is ignoring that for the Natatorium.

October 20, 2004.
     ATI SEEKS RESTRAINING ORDER. On Monday ATI filed an Application for a Temporary Restraining Order against the City and the FTA to prevent them from further construction or operation of the IOS segment of the BRT Project.  READ THE DETAILS

October 19, 2004.
     NEGATIVE IMPACTS OF BRT SIGNAL PRIORITY. Dr. Prevedouros has supplied these "Notes on the negative impacts of the signal priority system for BRT buses." He tells us that the delays even for 40 seconds can have huge impacts on traffic congestion.

October 13, 2004.
     BUSWAYS OR RAIL TRANSIT? Review the actual passengers per hour carried by buses on busways vs. rail transit and see that one lane of busway can carry more peak hour/peak direction passengers than can virtually any rail line in the U.S.  REVIEW THE FEDERAL DATA

October 11, 2004.
     BRT: SAFETY LAST.  It is federal, state and city policy that safety be the prime consideration in traffic and transportation planning.  READ THE POLICIES    It is obvious that safety has not been a consideration in the City's design of the BRT. Bus drivers cannot make certain turns (see September 25 story below), emergency vehicles cannot get through now that Kuhio has been narrowed from 57 feet to 44 feet, and when Kuhio is restriped to four narrow lanes it will be even less safe.
Dale Evans, CEO of Charley's Taxi, took some interested parties on a tour of Waikiki in a full size bus last week. She comments on the difficulties of driving there now.  FULL STORY  

October 7, 2004.
     THIS SAYS IT ALL! Adair's cartoon from today's Advertiser says it all about the City's logic in dealing with our traffic congestion problems. 
 

October 6, 2004.
     City's Bus Rapid Transit System: Poor Plan Gone Further Awry. The system is a fiasco, waste of time, money and effort, says, Tom Dinell, Emeritus Professor, Urban and Regional Planning at UH.  FULL STORY 

October 3, 2004.
     CRIME ON LIGHT RAIL. Portland's daily Oregonian reports on crime on their light rail system.  FULL STORY 

October 2, 2004.
     PORTLAND'S PROPERTY OWNERS BALK AT TRANSIT TAX. The Portland Oregonian reports that "key property owners" are balking at a proposal to create a downtown transit mall and increase taxes. They contend that "public transit on the mall is actually a burden on the value of adjacent property rather than a special benefit." Among drawbacks, the opponents listed noise, congestion, vandalism, panhandling and "other nuisances associated with the public transit system."   FULL STORY 

October 1, 2004.
      WHO IS BEING MISLEADING? Hanneman? Bainum? We reviewed the charges and counter charges by the two mayoral candidates concerning BRTon Bainum's website. The plain facts are that:
# 1 — Bainum was the foremost Council proponent for BRT for his entire time in office, and
# 2 — The project has not changed from what he ruthlessly supported when in office despite what he says currently. FULL STORY
      UH PROF PREVEDOUROS SPELLS IT OUT. His new paper on the "Traffic Outcomes of the Harris Administration and Suggestions for the New Mayor" tells us that Harris has reduced Waikiki's traffic capacity by 30% and that it "may prove disastrous if a massive evacuation is needed because of a tsunami or hurricane." Even worse, he concludes that, "Reality appears to support the speculations" that traffic signal management has been deliberately ignored to make congestion worse and fuel public demands for some new transit project.  FULL STORY

September 30, 2004.
      BRT PROJECT A GIANT FINANCIAL MESS. The City Council Budget Committee held a hearing today on the BRT finances. It is quite clear that this is a real mess. FULL STORY
      BAINUM: "manipulative, intolerant and mean tempered" in pushing BRT, says Dale Evans in today's Hawaii Reporter. FULL STORY

September 29, 2004.
     NEW FOUR-LANE TOLLWAY now under construction for Tampa, Florida. A proposal has been floated for a two-lane version of this for the Leeward Corridor. For photos of this innovative four-lane reversible highway that is slated to open in2005. FULL STORY
     UH PROF BLASTS CITY. Dr. Panos Prevedouros, Professor of Civil Engineering at UH, charged in a letter to the state's Office of Environmental Quality Control, that the City's traffic changes in Waikiki are "designed to circumvent established environmental assessment requirements." He says it is "a case of government deliberately worsening the (service) to potentially unacceptable levels. This is occurring in an area that is critical to the state’s economy and without a formal assessment, review and public participation."  FULL STORY
      REMEMBER BRT — BAINUM RAPID TRANSIT. Duke Bainum is now telling us the he is opposed to BRT; it has changed since he voted for it, he says. What shibai; it has not changed.
    Bainum was Council Transportation Committee Chair through the end of 2002 and he pushed BRT every inch of the way. Here's a flavor of his attitude from the Star Bulletin of 6/27/02:  "Opponents such as community activist Michelle Matson reminded Council members that state transportation officials have warned that it could make travel worse for motorists in certain areas of town. Councilman Duke Bainum, who has led the Transportation Committee for the last several years, said the Bus Rapid Transit project likely will rank among the most significant acts of legislation passed during his two terms in office. 'We can complain about traffic, or we can move ahead and take a chance,' Bainum said."
    All during his term as Chair Bainum rode roughshod over every critic of BRT and now, when what they had warned about has come true in spades, he turns on his heel and says the BRT has changed and now he doesn't support it. What shibai. Second only to the Mayor, Bainum is responsible for the BRT disaster and he should be held accountable for it.  FULL STORY

September 26, 2004.
     The New York Times favors automobiles? The Times, which normally prints only all the news that fits, prints a long piece in favor of the automobile and points out the fallacies of trying to solve congestion problems with public transportation. Astonishing! Read it. FULL STORY

September 25, 2004.
     Dr. Prevedouros, Professor of Civil Engineering at UH shows that City traffic planning is so inept that buses can't even turn on many streets. He shows us the example of the junction of Ohua St. and Kuhio Avenue. Click here for his plan view of the problem.

     FTA's BOMBSHELL! rescission letter (see below) is unprecendented; it is now coming to light that the they have never done it before in the history of FTA funding. In addition, the FTA and the City are now feuding. The City says that FTA can't rescind the ROD. Really?
   The letter rescinding the ROD raises numerous questions, such as, what happens about City funding since the Council approval was dependent on the City Administration having a ROD? Doesn't it prove that the City encumbered funds illegally? Why did the Administration not tell the City Council about the shaky state of FTA approval in December 2003, when they were warned by FTA?
   We must also be clear on the FTA funding; there is none for the IOS. To quote yesterday's Star Bulletin, "Jennifer Sabas, Inouye's chief of staff, said the senator moved to exclude use of the federal money for Bus Rapid Transit after the FTA's most recent decision. She said the money was reprogrammed for uses other than for BRT -- bus and bus facility-related initiatives as well as work on the Kapolei interchange." Now what?

Council Budget Committee Hearing called. Chair Ann Kobayashi is calling for a "DISCUSSION ON THE FINANCIAL ISSUES REGARDING THE WAIKIKI NATATORIUM, BUS RAPID TRANSIT, HANAUMA BAY AND RECYCLING PROGRAM." Full details here. Be there.

Today's Star-Bulletin Editorial, "With BRT dead, get going on rail."  OR "Out of the frying pan into the fire."

Today's Hawaii Reporter  has excellent coverage about these recent astounding IOS/BRT recent events.

September 24, 2004. Star Bulletin headlines, " Mayoral hopefuls to scrap BRT plan. They say the transit proposal is not viable without federal funds." Click here for the full story.
September 20, 2004.    BOMBSHELL! Today the FTA releases a letter that it has sent to the City effectively killing the BRT program. Click here for the letter.