Transit Goals Include Better Travel Reliability

Accidents tied up H-1 traffic for hours last weekend.

Note on 6/30/2009: Yes2Rail isn't being published for the time being (but that could change) due to limited rewsources and the need to devote them to other projects. Thank you for reading any (and all?) of the 91 posts you see here, starting with our first one a year ago today as this is written. We stand by everything you see -- especially the critical importance to build an elevated system to restore rapid and unimpeded mobility to the citizens of our community. Grade-separated transit is the only mode of transportation that can guarantee a time of arrival. At-grade transit is unacceptable for Honolulu for a host of reasons. If you want to schedule a presentation on those reasons and more, leave your contact information in the Comments section below. Thanks again for reading, and remember to say Yes 2 Rail! ~Aloha, Doug Carlson

Motorists using the H-1 freeway Saturday and Sunday were frustrated by traffic blockages caused by two accidents; together they totaled more than 15 hours of freeway closure.

Unanticipated delays can happen any time when you’re traveling by bus or car, which is why one of the goals of Honolulu’s rail transit project is to improve travel reliability.

As stated in Chapter 1 of the project’s Draft Environmental Impact Statement (page 1-20), the need for transit improvements in the study corridor have produced these project goals:
• Improve corridor mobility.
• Improve corridor travel reliability.
• Improve access to planned development to support City policy to develop a second urban center
• Improve transportation equity.

Honolulu’s future train will ride on an elevated guideway, completely separated from surface traffic conditions. Those who travel across town by train will avoid traffic interruptions on streets and highways – the kind that closed freeway lanes in East and West Oahu last weekend.

One argument supporting travel by rail seems self-evident when you think about it: Grade-separated transit is a reliable way to guarantee a time of arrival, because when transit is above or below ground, it’s completely unaffected by surface congestion that can add many minutes or even hours to your trip.

Accurately predicting your time of arrival at your destination will be routine once Honolulu’s train is up and running – something you can’t do with absolute certainty today.