The issue has upended Hawaii politics, impacting campaigns and diverting lawmakers' attention from pressing issues such as Honolulu's homelessness crisis. That's nearly twice the ridership per kilometer of Miami's heavy rail - a metropolitan area five times the size of Honolulu - and a little higher than that of Atlanta, which has a population six times the size of Honolulu, according to Erick Guerra, assistant professor of city and regional planning at the University of Pennsylvania. Ben Cayetano said.Įxperts also question the ridership estimate of 119,600 trips per day. “The reason people supported rail is because they could get some relief, and that's not the case,” former Hawaii Gov. By 2030, Oahu traffic is expected to increase 24 percent from 2007 conditions, an estimate that falls just 2 percentage points if the rail line is built. “You have to get the kids up at an ungodly hour just to get into town early enough, and they're sleeping in their car or having breakfast in their car before school opens, and that's sad to me.”Ĭritics counter the rail line would do little to help. “It's a social justice issue,” said Howard Garval, president and CEO of the nonprofit Child and Family Service. On the island's wealthier windward side, three highways connect residents to urban Honolulu. Residents there deserve an alternative route to Honolulu to save them from crushing traffic that consistently rates among the nation's worst, the supporters said. That part of the island - with its fast-growing suburbs, affordable homes and a rural stretch that is home to many Native Hawaiians - has lower incomes than other parts of the island and has only one route in and out. Yet the rail line has its ardent supporters, who say it's a matter of fairness to Oahu's sprawling west side. “The capital cost is way too high, and the expected ridership is way too low,” said Dan Chatman, associate professor of city and regional planning at the University of California, Berkeley. They warn spending so much on rail could divert funding from other sources, including buses, which could limit schedules and lose riders. Transit experts around the country say the project makes no sense given Honolulu's size and the fact that materials must be shipped to the island state. route stretches from suburbs west of Honolulu into downtown and stops short of the tourist mecca Waikiki. ![]() Both projects have faced funding issues and lawsuits.īut the Honolulu project stands out because of spiraling costs that have pushed its price tag to nearly $10,000 per person, thousands more than other U.S. “Right now, it's probably a race between California and Hawaii of who's going to get their projects built or have the biggest boondoggle in the country,” said Keith Millhouse, a transportation consultant and national expert on mass transit issues, referring to a $64 billion bullet train planned between Los Angeles and San Francisco. ![]() rail projects often run over budget, but Hawaii's situation is among the worst they've seen. 15, the federal government could demand that Honolulu return more than $800 million it has already spent and withhold the rest of a promised $1.5 billion funding package.Įxperts said U.S. Legislative leaders have tentatively agreed to a bill, but whether it will pass is unclear. If lawmakers don't agree on how to fill it, the giant columns could end up as nothing more than expensive eyesores. ![]() They're part of a planned $9.5 billion rail transit project - one of the most expensive per capita in the United States.īut the commuter line, in the works in and around Honolulu for more than a decade, is less than halfway complete and facing a budget shortfall of up to $3 billion. ![]() HONOLULU (AP) Train tracks supported by concrete pillars snake through Oahu neighborhoods and across its lush scenery, ending abruptly in an empty, overgrown field. They’re part of a planned $9.5 billion rail transit project - one of the most expensive per capita in the United States. Train tracks supported by concrete pillars snake through Oahu neighborhoods and across its lush scenery, ending abruptly in an empty, overgrown field.
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