UH-West Construction Starts; Rail Link Noted

So what if it’s taking decades for the University of Hawaii-West Oahu to launch? Major projects don’t happen overnight in Hawaii; just look at rail transit.

The Honolulu Star-Advertiser has noted the start of construction on UH-West’s campus, for which planning began in 1966, about a decade before the Fasi Administration began working intently on the Honolulu Area Rapid Transit project.

What distinguishes the two major efforts from one another is that rapid transit has been killed off twice already (some would say three times), whereas “slow and steady” describes the dream of creating a center of higher learning in leeward Oahu.

Honolulu rail will link the campus with the urban corridor running east into Honolulu and west toward the Second City of Kapolei, as shown in the graphic from the Star-Advertiser’s article.

Linkages are important to keep in mind in the ongoing discussion about rail. It’s not just about how many cars will be taken off the road or by what percentage traffic congestion will be reduced; both certainly will be the case with rail, notwithstanding the opposition’s belittling of those statistics. (One can only wonder how much highway traffic would have been lessened if one of those earlier transit projects had been completed.)

What can’t be belittled are the linkages Honolulu rail will provide along its route, including education facilities. In addition to UH-West, the line will have stations at or near Leeward Community College, Honolulu Community College, Hawaii Pacific University and Pearl City High School. Convenient bus service will link the line’s eastern terminal at Ala Moana Center with UH’s Manoa campus and private schools, including Punahou, Iolani, Lutheran High School and others.

So think link as you follow the rail debate…… Saaaay, we like that!

Think Link with Rail!