A “Coming up” blurb at the top of B1 noted my upcoming rail presentation to a local group and called me “the mayor’s spokesman for the Honolulu Rail Transit Project.”
For the record, that’s not me. That’s Bill Brennan or Wayne Yoshioka or somebody else, but it’s not me. I’m a communications subcontractor to Parsons Brinckerhoff; I write this blog, schedule and deliver presentations on the project among other things. This is worth mentioning here since the Star-Tiser hasn’t printed my correction, and I don’t want any misunderstandings.
Speaking of that, “misunderstand” is what numerous critics do when they talk about rail. They continue to not understand the project's purpose and need. That’ll be one of the subjects of my upcoming talk, and it’s worth mentioning at Yes2Rail today, too.
In a nutshell, the Honolulu rail project’s purpose is to provide high-capacity and fast transit service between Kapolei and town and do it more reliably than buses can deliver in mixed-flow traffic. It will restore mobility for the population, including limited-income and elderly residents living in the transit corridor, by being an alternative to private automobile travel; in so doing, it will provide transportation equity for all travelers. Rail will moderate the anticipated growth of traffic congestion in the corridor and be a means for users to completely avoid that congestion. It will allow riders to predict their time of arrival when they start their trip. Finally, transit-oriented development will be a rational process to guide the community’s future growth.
Keep this in mind when someone suggests managed lanes or elevated busways could meet the community’s transportation purpose and need. Only fast, frequent, safe and reliable grade-separated rail can do that.