Editorial: “Let’s Move On and Make Rail Happen”

The editorial in today’s Honolulu Advertiser has landed on the community’s collective doorstep at exactly the right time. “Thanks for sharing, but no thanks” it says to those who want to make a major change in the Honolulu rail system.

Their eleventh-hour suggestion that some or all of the project should be built at ground level – right down there in the mix of cars, trucks, buses and pedestrians – has failure written all over it.

As the newspaper rightly observes, an at-grade system would not be fast, would not be as frequent and would not be as reliable and therefore not as attractive to commuters as a system built entirely above the city’s streets. We've made the same arguments here for months. The editorial concludes:

“The city has done its homework, and the will to proceed is there at last. Let’s not waste time and precious dollars with this political paralysis. The decision is made, and it’s high time for the follow-through. Let’s move on and make rail happen for Honolulu.”

Keep reading below for some graphic illustrations of what’s been happening with the new at-grade system in Phoenix, AZ. A Phoenix television station carried an extensive video report on a recent crash that sent three people, including two train passengers, to the hospital.