tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-79376023303918302422024-02-25T11:15:12.930-10:00Say Yes to the Honolulu Rail SystemPosts mostly ended in 2012 when the author moved to California. Yes2Rail contains hundreds of posts, many refuting the opposition’s ongoing misinformation campaign (see "aggregation site" in red graf below). BTW, criticizing and dissecting political candidates' flawed/missing transit plans was not "attacking the candidate," as rail critics asserted. Yes2Rail – a reservoir of rail facts -- never attacked anybody. A big Mahalo for the positive comments Yes2Rail received over the years.Doug Carlsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10191683240304122047noreply@blogger.comBlogger824125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7937602330391830242.post-26567105559965691052023-06-30T07:20:00.010-10:002023-07-09T04:58:16.627-10:00This Blog’s First Headline: ‘Rail Transit Must Finally become a Reality for Honolulu,’ and 15 Years Later, Today It Does!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBORCI3EsHThgUtHLV_pmV0gMCV22x5N71vQjx00tfv2KvvL8ZEA9ylAuYuTFj2l9MPbxBF2nczAKGO99Ggg920gdfZFgmuH5tH9OgL6ISoGGcrYttiUWKgs0aht2FMZgmcOW62JnJvzpUfUvotd4B8FnlI-gMBNNBpylmorZfKLiRAmoEoHGMZDwyF6k/s2224/IMG_0480.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1668" data-original-width="2224" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBORCI3EsHThgUtHLV_pmV0gMCV22x5N71vQjx00tfv2KvvL8ZEA9ylAuYuTFj2l9MPbxBF2nczAKGO99Ggg920gdfZFgmuH5tH9OgL6ISoGGcrYttiUWKgs0aht2FMZgmcOW62JnJvzpUfUvotd4B8FnlI-gMBNNBpylmorZfKLiRAmoEoHGMZDwyF6k/s320/IMG_0480.png" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDUxXf7qFYi2V0aQIRWc8jfIIvPrG4h5cQVehb5fPDg3pA5SN4sFIpZD7d_FIW_T_v9ot8ZA4kTCEyY4SKenqP7rOwJ7LI4ZdgtBZVjr45MgktI1f0YGEJf2GqmLqp76e-Ix9yOpTEkqY0Uyglsjp3Mb4d1JHheOKZJ2lY4JdvWoTgsSF0J9Kq0lwnKRA/s2222/IMG_0481.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1225" data-original-width="2222" height="259" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDUxXf7qFYi2V0aQIRWc8jfIIvPrG4h5cQVehb5fPDg3pA5SN4sFIpZD7d_FIW_T_v9ot8ZA4kTCEyY4SKenqP7rOwJ7LI4ZdgtBZVjr45MgktI1f0YGEJf2GqmLqp76e-Ix9yOpTEkqY0Uyglsjp3Mb4d1JHheOKZJ2lY4JdvWoTgsSF0J9Kq0lwnKRA/w470-h259/IMG_0481.jpeg" width="470" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="color: #b45f06; text-align: center;"><i>Honolulu Skyline System at its Launch</i></div><div style="color: #b45f06; text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #b45f06; font-size: large;"><i><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dUpccARaZZQ">Click for 19-minute video of Skyline in operation.</a></i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;">Fifteen years is an eternity in Internet time, so it's remarkable that <a href="https://yes2rail.blogspot.com/2008/06/test-first-post.html ">Yes2Rail's first post</a> 15 years ago today had a <a href="https://honolulutransit.org/">website's URL link for HART</a> -- the Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation -- that still works!</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;">Honolulu's Skyline elevated rail opens for public use this afternoon to deliver what was suggested in that first post -- a system <span style="color: #b45f06;"><i>"that will restore mobility to a population that has none in the traffic-choked 20 miles between west Oahu and downtown Honolulu."</i></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;">Though the system's time line and costs have changed, I'm sticking with my forever prediction: Honolulu elevated rail will be an immediate success for those who choose to ride and thereby completely avoid traffic congestion on the H-1 and surface roads between Kapolei and town. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;">That decades-old vision becomes a reality today.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><br /><br /></div>Doug Carlsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10191683240304122047noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7937602330391830242.post-29690485217985494592023-06-29T11:54:00.011-10:002023-07-01T07:34:11.425-10:00On the Eve of Honolulu Skyway’s Launch and Culmination of Decades of Planning, Let’s Thank Everybody Who Has Brought Us to this Extraordinary Moment<p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14pt;">Thousands of people have helped achieve grade-separated traffic-free commuting that will become a reality with the start of Skyway’s inaugural service Friday afternoon. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14pt;">Obvious among them are those who’ve worked locally to move the project along in the past decade-plus. But many non-local people helped shape the vision that will become a reality on June 30.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14pt;">Their number includes even the international community of employees of the French, Japanese, Canadian, and American firms that submitted proposals to build Mayor Frank Fasi’s plan in 1991. Even though that project ultimately wasn't executed, their efforts contributed to more thinking and planning that proved valuable in later years.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Politicians also deserve plaudits for their commitment to Honolulu rail – from members of Honolulu’s City Council who authorized local funding of the project, to State legislators who thought beyond their districts’ boundaries and gave their approval to help Oahu residents whose lives are degraded by grinding traffic congestion. And let's not forget Federal government employees who were critical to moving the project forward along the way.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: medium;">Four successive Honolulu mayors supported rail, starting with Mufi Hannemann, who resurrected the project after his 2004 election, and continuing through the administrations of Peter Carlyle, Kirk Caldwell, and now Rick Blangiardi. Each of them defeated candidates who actively fought against this day ever happening.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><span style="color: #b45f06; font-size: large;"><b>Public Opinion</b></span><span style="font-size: medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14pt;">Perhaps most deserving of our thanks are the citizens of Oahu whose support for rail <a href="http://yes2rail.blogspot.com/2012/01/theres-no-margin-for-error-in-isle-wide.html">was repeatedly revealed in polls conducted by Hawaii firms</a> that sampled views on rail of all citizens, not just voters. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14pt;">I’ve repeatedly criticized <i>Civil Beat</i> and, at times, the daily newspaper and its television partner <a href="http://yes2rail.blogspot.com/2012/04/another-look-at-excluding-non-voters.html">for using <b>voter-only</b> polls to sample public opinion on rail</a>. That is not a legitimate practice; public infrastructure projects serve the entire public, including approximately half of the population that chooses not to vote – a cohort more likely to use public transit than voters (you can look it up).<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14pt;">I personally thank Mufi Hannemann for asking me to join the project’s Public Involvement Team in 2007. He took note of my involvement with French firm Matra Transport, which bid on Mayor Fasi’s project, and my continuing efforts over the next dozen years or so to push back at the anti-railers' media presence. For examples of that push-back, go <a href="http://the.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/2003/Nov/17/op/op04aletters.html">here</a>, <a href="http://the.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/2005/Aug/23/op/FP508230313.html">here</a>, <a href="https://archives.starbulletin.com/2008/06/27/editorial/letters.html">here</a>, and <a href="http://the.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/2006/Aug/08/op/FP608080316.html">here</a>.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14pt;">Now that Honolulu elevated rail has become a reality, Yes2Rail transitions to a less argumentative voice – but not without one last recollection of the August 2011 salvo from four highly visible anti-rail campaigners. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14pt;">They were attempting to lead the public away from the only transportation mode that, beginning Friday, will offer total relief from traffic congestion in Oahu’s southern corridor between Kapolei and eventually urban Honolulu. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14pt;">We called the anti-rail op-ed piece on Sunday August 21, 2011 a Hail Mary pass tossed into the rail debate out of desperation by the four critics we dubbed the “Gang of Four.” <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14pt;">We resurrect their piece only to publicize <a href="https://yes2rail.blogspot.com/2011/08/lawsuit-backers-switch-tactics-blast.html">our push-back arguments</a> – to maybe use again in case a new gang steps forward to blow more smoke.<o:p></o:p></span></p><br /><p></p>Doug Carlsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10191683240304122047noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7937602330391830242.post-55647891628541096602023-06-28T09:03:00.010-10:002023-06-28T11:19:44.880-10:00Counting Down to Skyline’s Launch on Friday: Yes2Rail Recalls the Push for At-Grade Transit and how Safety Issues Clearly Favored an Elevated System<p><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14pt;">Opponents of Honolulu's proposed transit project used a variety of tactics over the years in their attempts to block it. </span><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14pt;">One was an ongoing campaign to build the rail line at ground level, where trains would interact with cars, buses, trucks, and pedestrians. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14pt;">Yes2Rail took pains to point out the inherent danger of at-grade transit, and the photos in the blog’s right-hand column showed what can go wrong when vehicles occupy the same space as at-grade transit.</span><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14pt;">Click on these headlines to read the posts:<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14pt;"><a href="http://yes2rail.blogspot.com/2010/01/national-transit-leader-calls-honolulu.html">National Transit Leader Calls Honolulu Rail Plan 'Gold Standard' of Transit, Says Elevated Rail is Safer, More Reliable and More Attractive To Ride</a></span></p><h3 style="break-after: avoid; font-family: "Calibri Light", sans-serif; font-size: 13pt; margin: 9pt 0in 0in;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 18.666666px; font-weight: 400;"><a href="http://yes2rail.blogspot.com/2010/01/la-residents-fight-for-grade-separated.html">LA Residents Fighting for Grade-Separated Transit; At-Grade Rail Unsafe for Kids, Elderly, All</a></span></h3><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 18.666666px;"><a href="http://yes2rail.blogspot.com/2010/01/aia-capitol-hearing-skirts-at-grade.html">AIA Capitol Hearing Skirts At-Grade Safety Issue; Chapter's Vision Won't Do What Honolulu Needs</a></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 18.666666px;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 18.666666px;"><a href="http://yes2rail.blogspot.com/2010/02/aia-once-again-misrepresents-and.html">AIA Once Again Misrepresents and Ignores Higher Danger to Street Traffic Posed by At-Grade Transit</a></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 18.666666px;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 18.666666px;"><a href="http://yes2rail.blogspot.com/2010/01/3-crosswalk-pedestrian-deaths-already.html">3 'Pedestrian Crosswalk' Deaths Already in 2010; AIA Still Pushes for At-Grade Train in Chinatown</a></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 18.666666px;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 18.666666px;"><a href="http://yes2rail.blogspot.com/2010/01/at-grades-drawbacks-cant-be-airbrushed.html">At-Grade's Drawbacks Can't Be Airbrushed Away</a></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 18.666666px;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 18.666666px;"><a href="http://yes2rail.blogspot.com/2010/02/human-factor-causes-another-at-grade.html">Human Factor Causes another At-Grade Crash; Bus Runs Light, Smashes into Houston Train; 12 Sent to Hospitals, Rail Service Halted for Hours</a></span></div><div><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: 16.5pt;"><br /></span></div><div><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: medium;"><a href=" http://yes2rail.blogspot.com/2011/11/one-citys-experience-with-at-grade-rail.html">One City's Experience with At-Grade Rail Safety: Salt Lake City's Search for Answers to At-Grade Crashes Deserves More than a Passing Glance; Bicyclist Dies There Today in Yet Another Incident</a></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14pt;">And to think Yes2Rail’s critics once said the blog's content wasn’t worth the expense. For political expediency, they </span><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 18.666666px;">attacked Honolulu rail's </span><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 18.666666px;">Public Involvement Team, the entity with</span><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 18.666666px;"> the least firepower to fight back. (I'm talking to you, Tulsi Gabbard.)</span></div><div><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14pt;">We could continue linking Yes2Rail posts on elevated rail’s safety, but let’s leave <a href="http://yes2rail.blogspot.com/2010/01/citys-news-conference-continued-aias.html">the last several words to Wayne Yoshioka</a>, former director of the City’s Transportation Services Department, in discussing elevated versus at-grade safety:<o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 18.666666px;"><br /></span></div><div><span face="Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(153, 51, 0); color: #993300; font-style: italic; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;">“Let’s go back logically and look at this. You’re elevated. You’re totally separated from the roadway. You’re in a protected environment and completely separated out…. What cars are flying at that level above the ground? And what people are flying through the air at that level above the ground? As opposed to an at-grade transit that’s crossing active streets with active vehicles turning in front of the train, with pedestrians crossing in front of the train. That (comparison) doesn’t seem to make logical sense to me."</span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 18.666666px;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 18.666666px;">Thankfully, safety was a critical consideration in building Honolulu's elevated Skyline. Our description of the project has always been "fast, frequent, reliable, and <span style="color: #b45f06;"><b>safe</b></span>." Go forth, Honolulu, and ride safely.</span></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>Doug Carlsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10191683240304122047noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7937602330391830242.post-67754957781324269552023-06-26T08:08:00.005-10:002023-06-26T08:19:10.125-10:00A Honolulu Rail Benefit that’s Rarely Mentioned: Riders Will Know Exactly when They’ll Arrive at Their Destination<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSj0GWuH5y7Av-5bXorNosLxwavB74zo17HinGONM8jilg1-ALmqvcMHhvOvLjXJDht1ho0iCamXn2ziBQFvVe-InEmJEsNsEbCT7sT7kv_YIK9kK9TFAsFKO9zNz632n86c4RC3bM4EbRpzcv5aEqTIPDN8ZEz_o4I6tXLlgrlWAzAZpIdHEyhucoTmE/s1628/Timetable%20Kapolei%20to%20UH%20West%20Oahu.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="868" data-original-width="1628" height="296" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSj0GWuH5y7Av-5bXorNosLxwavB74zo17HinGONM8jilg1-ALmqvcMHhvOvLjXJDht1ho0iCamXn2ziBQFvVe-InEmJEsNsEbCT7sT7kv_YIK9kK9TFAsFKO9zNz632n86c4RC3bM4EbRpzcv5aEqTIPDN8ZEz_o4I6tXLlgrlWAzAZpIdHEyhucoTmE/w554-h296/Timetable%20Kapolei%20to%20UH%20West%20Oahu.png" width="554" /></a></div><p></p><p><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14pt;">When Honolulu’s Skyline goes into service on June 30, it will introduce a revolutionary shift in how we think about personal travel.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times; margin: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14pt;"><span style="color: #b45f06;">You’ll know when you step onto the train exactly when you’ll get off at your destination</span></span></b><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14pt;"><span style="color: #b45f06;">.</span> A timetable will spell it out precisely.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14pt;">Grade-separated transit – like Honolulu’s elevated rail – is the <i><b><span style="color: #b45f06;">only</span></b></i> mode that guarantees an arrival time at your destination. That's unknowable when you drive or take TheBus. We've all had our plans thrown off by accidents and traffic jams. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14pt;">Skyline riders will enjoy congestion-free travel. <span style="color: #b45f06;"><b><i>That's revolutionary!</i></b></span></span></p>Doug Carlsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10191683240304122047noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7937602330391830242.post-7784129539558338902023-06-16T09:54:00.023-10:002023-06-23T18:03:17.082-10:00Honolulu Elevated Rail System's Launch on June 30 Will Deliver on Citizens’ Demand for a Traffic-Free Travel Option along Oahu’s Southern Corridor; Don’t Let the Media Fool You into Thinking the Public Doesn’t Want It<p><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14pt;">If Honolulu rail’s opening day comes off as advertised two weeks from today – after decades of delay, it’s an “if” worth considering – it will be one of Hawaii’s most momentous public events since World War II.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14pt;">That’s a personal opinion, of course, but I think rail’s launch easily ranks with other milestones in the past eight decades that deserve inclusion in a short list. Statehood in 1959 surely is one, and so, too, is the maiden voyage of the Hokulea in 1975, an iconic representation of the Hawaiian cultural renaissance.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14pt;">Volcanologists might include the start of Kilauea’s volcanic eruption in January 1983 that continues virtually uninterrupted to this day. And don’t forget the University of Hawaii football team’s undefeated 2007 season and invitation to the Sugar Bowl.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14pt;">My Top Five list includes construction and launch of Hawaii’s most expensive and grandest civil engineering project ever – Honolulu elevated rail, which will begin operations at 2 p.m. on June 30. The public can enjoy free rides on the line and on the City’s TheBus system through the first weekend in July until the last train’s runs on July 4.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times; margin: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 16pt;"><span style="color: #b45f06;">Decades of Planning</span><o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14pt;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14pt;"><i><span style="color: #b45f06;">“</span></i></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 13.5pt;"><span style="color: #b45f06;"><i>This is the last chance we have to build a rail system in our lifetime,</i>”</span> wrote Honolulu Mayor Mufi Hannemann in <a href="https://archives.starbulletin.com/2005/07/10/editorial/special.html" target="_blank">a 2005 letter to the Honolulu Star-Bulletin</a>. <i><span style="color: #cc0000;">“</span><span style="color: #b45f06;">If we fail this time, unlike 1992, it will not be because of lack of effort on the part of the city.”</span></i></span><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times; margin: 0in;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times; margin: 0in;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 13.5pt;">Honolulu did not fail. Despite repeated legal challenges and an anti-rail public relations campaign that flourished a dozen years ago (<a href="http://yes2rail.blogspot.com/2011/08/" target="_blank">see this blog’s August 2011 posts</a>), rail’s backers persevered despite that campaign and earlier headwinds.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times; margin: 0in;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times; margin: 0in;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 13.5pt;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honolulu_Rail_Transit" target="_blank">Mayor Frank Fasi had begun planning in the 1970s</a> for a mass transit alternative to driving between town and Oahu’s anticipated “Second City” on the <i>ewa</i> plain. The southwest corner of Oahu was still covered in sugarcane fields then, but it was obvious to planners that surface roads and the new H-1 freeway would eventually become traffic-clogged once thousands of homes replaced all that agriculture. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times; margin: 0in;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times; margin: 0in;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 13.5pt;">Fasi’s Honolulu Area Rapid Transit planning ended with his re-election defeat in 1980, but he was back in Honolulu Hale four years later with a new and improved system that would have linked Kapolei with the University of Hawaii. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times; margin: 0in;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times; margin: 0in;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 13.5pt;">The early1990s effort was propelled by Fasi’s famously energetic get-it-done personality, and at the invitation of the French government, he visited Lille, France to inspect the elevated line there. Matra Transport, headquartered at the time just outside Paris, had built the Lille system and others around the world and was one of five companies that bid on Honolulu’s project. (As a media consultant for Matra's Honolulu bid, I travelled with the Fasi party and took the photos displayed here. Our flight from New York to Paris in 3.5 hours aboard an Air France Concorde is on my personal Top Five list.)<o:p></o:p></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtrubKcqP8sEB1wy21CZN-nOjFPa0kAMEw6IrSXeI-k4epdJhle8oHdIgNZnwD9jwaKtzhc207jqowLWO1T8FT21BwBT3OPXc4XMxQ2ts8z1oM5QJfvZuEepeVnIY6KPx-ojCbyssQwKVaxJnvZUkLqsR748DBafHCsEWMZatr0qBTYYz2Kd_6UjnS/s1098/Fasi%20in%20Matra%20train%201991%20num%202.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1098" data-original-width="756" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtrubKcqP8sEB1wy21CZN-nOjFPa0kAMEw6IrSXeI-k4epdJhle8oHdIgNZnwD9jwaKtzhc207jqowLWO1T8FT21BwBT3OPXc4XMxQ2ts8z1oM5QJfvZuEepeVnIY6KPx-ojCbyssQwKVaxJnvZUkLqsR748DBafHCsEWMZatr0qBTYYz2Kd_6UjnS/s320/Fasi%20in%20Matra%20train%201991%20num%202.png" width="220" /></a> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6giKirNCFXhAurhgfPojzgaZqnmKYK9mLOdGYtk2hMmS11wteGWfTI2MkIFC_jcNRyaaF1OmqrNyrsgY2Sr0QGvZlPUT3R0fA7Dzs69sFi1Shw_rxibeDaQ4sjZ6BCtaF4-P67SnotNOqDyTlVwPM9kbsqmvQBlfYZ1an06_mK7jItcevOEM_T1r6/s860/Fasi%20in%20Matra%20train%201991.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="602" data-original-width="860" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6giKirNCFXhAurhgfPojzgaZqnmKYK9mLOdGYtk2hMmS11wteGWfTI2MkIFC_jcNRyaaF1OmqrNyrsgY2Sr0QGvZlPUT3R0fA7Dzs69sFi1Shw_rxibeDaQ4sjZ6BCtaF4-P67SnotNOqDyTlVwPM9kbsqmvQBlfYZ1an06_mK7jItcevOEM_T1r6/w379-h265/Fasi%20in%20Matra%20train%201991.png" width="379" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQY1gF93kb7H_Ba6uWXs0WuBJ-8fp3MCtJ9MIAwgZFXV6N-xhT-U-Z9rqHSdYw9LmnqfymS41FJwCXnFEk1U10sBYW7cSllSRO_U6nKRNfIlLjzzzwxlyuJsa5ix1sGA3qKG_GjFWm5e5vDKt1bGaiP5Ld7XalnPBiTdyk6mKUBwdVKN_wqagc7QoK/s1086/FFF%20in%20train%20station%20lobby.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="784" data-original-width="1086" height="329" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQY1gF93kb7H_Ba6uWXs0WuBJ-8fp3MCtJ9MIAwgZFXV6N-xhT-U-Z9rqHSdYw9LmnqfymS41FJwCXnFEk1U10sBYW7cSllSRO_U6nKRNfIlLjzzzwxlyuJsa5ix1sGA3qKG_GjFWm5e5vDKt1bGaiP5Ld7XalnPBiTdyk6mKUBwdVKN_wqagc7QoK/w456-h329/FFF%20in%20train%20station%20lobby.jpeg" width="456" /></a></div><span style="color: #b45f06;"><i>Honolulu Mayor Frank Fasi visited Lille, France in 1991 to experience </i></span><i style="caret-color: rgb(180, 95, 6); color: #b45f06;">Matra Transport's </i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i style="caret-color: rgb(180, 95, 6); color: #b45f06;">elevated and </i><i style="color: #b45f06;">automated</i><i style="caret-color: rgb(180, 95, 6); color: #b45f06;"> transit system. John Marino, Matra's North American</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i style="caret-color: rgb(180, 95, 6); color: #b45f06;">marketing executive and my client, is center right in gray coat holding a </i><span style="color: #b45f06;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(180, 95, 6);"><i>briefcase.</i></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #b45f06;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(180, 95, 6);"><i>When Honolulu awarded the contract to another bidder during Halloween week,</i></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #b45f06;"><i style="caret-color: rgb(180, 95, 6);">Matra sponsored the full-page ad, below, in both Honolulu </i><i>newspapers</i><i style="caret-color: rgb(180, 95, 6);">.</i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #b45f06;"><i style="caret-color: rgb(180, 95, 6);"><br /></i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #b45f06;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1271d41OwzOgaRJKcl9EADSKc9tGDVrRoDvAQRGy8QoYUQOZpEu1SIPTaU6vh0UepBliH2EAv-TY1rV9VAQd1opuHVMgqv5Xnaed1JxdlTjDHc8ynZueR4xukIcLnw2yvWQFLKZ1TIo6wExDNyMRI2kLsleGsbZrsWJJFfbuaaLaJYSgWl9FMA_HR/s1096/Frankenstein%20Ad%2010-30-91.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1096" data-original-width="636" height="714" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1271d41OwzOgaRJKcl9EADSKc9tGDVrRoDvAQRGy8QoYUQOZpEu1SIPTaU6vh0UepBliH2EAv-TY1rV9VAQd1opuHVMgqv5Xnaed1JxdlTjDHc8ynZueR4xukIcLnw2yvWQFLKZ1TIo6wExDNyMRI2kLsleGsbZrsWJJFfbuaaLaJYSgWl9FMA_HR/w533-h714/Frankenstein%20Ad%2010-30-91.png" width="533" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Matra played hardball with a smile. The ad prompted more than a few chuckles in Honolulu Hale. </i><i>Matra ran the ad just that one time, which made Warner Brothers happy.</i></div></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times; margin: 0in;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 13.5pt;">Fasi’s updated transit vision fell one vote short in the City Council in 1992, and for the next decade, supporters and opponents argued the pros and cons of the transit line in opinion pieces and letters in the two daily Honolulu newspapers. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times; margin: 0in;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times; margin: 0in;"><b><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 16pt;"><span style="color: #b45f06;">Public Support for Rail</span><o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times; margin: 0in;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: medium;">Mufi Hannemann’s victory in the 2004 mayoral race was a turning point in building the system that will go public in two weeks. <a href="https://archives.starbulletin.com/2005/07/10/editorial/special.html" target="_blank">Hannemann wrote his letter</a> in response to the obvious transit need on Oahu, and it’s important to recognize that Oahu residents consistently supported rail over the years – notwithstanding what you might read in the media.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times; margin: 0in;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times; margin: 0in;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14pt;">Less than one year ago (July 11, 2022), <a href="https://www.civilbeat.org/2022/07/civil-beat-hnn-poll-rail-remains-unpopular-but-support-for-tmt-is-solid/" target="_blank">Civil Beat's report</a> on the results of a Civil Beat/Hawaii News Now poll said this:<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times; margin: 0in;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14pt;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times; margin: 0in;"><em><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14pt;">After a decade of rail drama including years of delays and colossal cost overruns, public opinion on rail hasn’t changed much:</span></em><span class="apple-converted-space"><i><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></i></span><strong><i><u><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14pt;">Voters</span></u></i></strong><span class="apple-converted-space"><b><i><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></i></b></span><strong><i><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14pt;">today are just as sour on the project as when the entire ordeal began, according to the new poll data</span></i></strong><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14pt;">(emphasis added).<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times; margin: 0in;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14pt;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times; margin: 0in;"><span style="color: #b45f06; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14pt;"><b>That second statement is demonstrably not true.</b></span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14pt;"> Civil Beat likes to use “voters only” polls, which are good for assessing how politicians are faring in an election but not for determining public opinion among all residents, voters and non-voters alike. Civil Beat sampled only voters in 2022 and compared results with earlier voters-only polls. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times; margin: 0in;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times; margin: 0in;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14pt;">Soliciting opinion on rail just among voters can't possibly reflect what the public at large believes, thinks, or wants. <a href="http://yes2rail.blogspot.com/2012/08/our-criticism-of-likely-voter-only.html" target="_blank">Even retired UH political scientist Neal Milner, a frequent Civil Beat contributor, agrees</a>.<span class="apple-converted-space"> <o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times; margin: 0in;"><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times; margin: 0in;"><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14pt;">Ignored by Civil Beat in its analysis were the p</span></span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14pt;">olls taken by reputable Honolulu-based polling firms in the project's early years that reported MAJORITY support for rail. I've made it easy to access those polling results by posting them on <a href="http://yes2rail.blogspot.com/2012/01/one-stop-site-for-major-honolulu-rail.html" target="_blank">Yes2Rail's Aggregation Page</a>. (The link is also in the red paragraph to the right.)<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times; margin: 0in;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14pt;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times; margin: 0in;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14pt;">Scroll halfway down that page to this heading:<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times; margin: 0in;"><strong><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14pt;">Public Opinion - Three scientific opinion polls have been conducted by local respected firms QMark and OmniTrak in the past three years to probe the public's views on rail.</span></strong><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times; margin: 0in;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14pt;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times; margin: 0in;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14pt;">Here are a few headings from that Aggregation Page </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 18.666666px;">(with links to articles)</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 18.666666px;"> </span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14pt;">:</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times; margin: 0in;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14pt;">-- 2011 Opinion Survey Finds 57% Support Rail Project<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times; margin: 0in;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14pt;">-- Every Council District Registered Majority (Rail) Support<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times; margin: 0in;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14pt;">-- Rail's Majority Grows When Economy Is the Issue<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times; margin: 0in;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14pt;">-- 2009 Poll: Behind the Numbers -- Solid Support<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times; margin: 0in;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14pt;">-- 2008: A Second Poll Shows Strong Support for Rail<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times; margin: 0in;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14pt;">So bring on elevated Honolulu rail. Traffic-avoidance commuting finally will be a reality starting in July, a benefit drivers will enjoy during all the decades of growth ahead. </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14pt;">Yes2Rail isn’t ignoring the project’s significant cost escalation in the past 30 years. Frank Fasi’s project could have been built for about $3.7 billion – at least $7 billion less than the current project. But this blog never did vouch for the financial side of Honolulu rail – just its practicality as a preferred way to move people through the city.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14pt;">By implementing rail, Honolulu will have restored mobility to its citizens in the heavily traveled southern corridor with </span><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14pt;">grade-separated transit, which is what major cities around the world have done. <a href="http://yes2rail.blogspot.com/2011/01/rails-goals-remain-same-in-new-year.html" target="_blank">The project’s other main goals</a> have never changed and are likely to be achieved as well.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14pt;"><b><i><span style="color: #b45f06;">Enjoy the ride, Honolulu!</span></i></b><o:p></o:p></span></p>Doug Carlsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10191683240304122047noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7937602330391830242.post-85017745516290265612023-02-22T09:10:00.002-10:002023-03-11T03:45:27.119-10:00ChatGPT shows its potential to replace human communicators; had the AI bot been around when this pro-rail blog was created in 2008, it likely would have been the writer and not me!<p><span style="font-size: medium;"> Here is what I entered into the ChatGPT website as a prompt to create a new post here at Yes2Rail:</span></p><div class="w-[30px] flex flex-col relative items-end" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 transparent; --tw-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; align-items: flex-end; border: 0px solid rgb(217, 217, 227); box-sizing: border-box; caret-color: rgb(52, 53, 65); color: #343541; display: flex; flex-direction: column; font-family: Söhne, ui-sans-serif, system-ui, -apple-system, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Ubuntu, Cantarell, "Noto Sans", sans-serif, "Helvetica Neue", Arial, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol", "Noto Color Emoji"; font-size: 16px; position: relative; width: 30px;"><div class="relative flex" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 transparent; --tw-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border: 0px solid rgb(217, 217, 227); box-sizing: border-box; display: flex; position: relative;"><span style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 transparent; --tw-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; background-image: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; display: inline-block; margin: 0px; max-width: 100%; opacity: 1; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; position: relative;"><img alt="dougcarlson2@comcast.net" class="rounded-sm" data-nimg="intrinsic" decoding="async" src="https://chat.openai.com/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fs.gravatar.com%2Favatar%2Ff906d63fbf1572932b210a691a6a3cc4%3Fs%3D480%26r%3Dpg%26d%3Dhttps%253A%252F%252Fcdn.auth0.com%252Favatars%252Fdo.png&w=64&q=75" srcset="https://chat.openai.com/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fs.gravatar.com%2Favatar%2Ff906d63fbf1572932b210a691a6a3cc4%3Fs%3D480%26r%3Dpg%26d%3Dhttps%253A%252F%252Fcdn.auth0.com%252Favatars%252Fdo.png&w=32&q=75 1x, https://chat.openai.com/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fs.gravatar.com%2Favatar%2Ff906d63fbf1572932b210a691a6a3cc4%3Fs%3D480%26r%3Dpg%26d%3Dhttps%253A%252F%252Fcdn.auth0.com%252Favatars%252Fdo.png&w=64&q=75 2x" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 transparent; --tw-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border-radius: 0.125rem; border: none; box-sizing: border-box; display: block; height: 0px; inset: 0px; margin: auto; max-height: 100%; max-width: 100%; min-height: 100%; min-width: 100%; padding: 0px; position: absolute; vertical-align: middle; width: 0px;" /></span></div></div><div class="relative flex w-[calc(100%-50px)] flex-col gap-1 md:gap-3 lg:w-[calc(100%-115px)]" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 transparent; --tw-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border: 0px solid rgb(217, 217, 227); box-sizing: border-box; column-gap: 0.75rem; display: flex; flex-direction: column; font-family: Söhne, ui-sans-serif, system-ui, -apple-system, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Ubuntu, Cantarell, "Noto Sans", sans-serif, "Helvetica Neue", Arial, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol", "Noto Color Emoji"; font-size: 16px; position: relative; row-gap: 0.75rem; width: calc(100% - 115px);"><div class="flex flex-grow flex-col gap-3" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 transparent; --tw-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border: 0px solid rgb(217, 217, 227); box-sizing: border-box; column-gap: 0.75rem; display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; row-gap: 0.75rem;"><div class="min-h-[20px] flex flex-col items-start gap-4 whitespace-pre-wrap" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 transparent; --tw-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; align-items: flex-start; border: 0px solid rgb(217, 217, 227); box-sizing: border-box; caret-color: rgb(52, 53, 65); column-gap: 1rem; display: flex; flex-direction: column; min-height: 20px; row-gap: 1rem; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #2b00fe;">"Honolulu elevated rail -- fast, frequent, reliable, safe. Grade-separated line avoids traffic congestion altogether. Vehicles and pedestrians will never interact with the elevated line. Trips between Kapolei and downtown Honolulu will take about 40 minutes. The project is behind schedule and above budget, but in the long run, the project will be exceptionally successful."</span></div><div class="min-h-[20px] flex flex-col items-start gap-4 whitespace-pre-wrap" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 transparent; --tw-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; align-items: flex-start; border: 0px solid rgb(217, 217, 227); box-sizing: border-box; caret-color: rgb(52, 53, 65); color: #343541; column-gap: 1rem; display: flex; flex-direction: column; min-height: 20px; row-gap: 1rem; white-space: pre-wrap;">With that input, here's what the Artificial Intelligence program produced:</div><div class="min-h-[20px] flex flex-col items-start gap-4 whitespace-pre-wrap" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 transparent; --tw-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; align-items: flex-start; border: 0px solid rgb(217, 217, 227); box-sizing: border-box; column-gap: 1rem; display: flex; flex-direction: column; min-height: 20px; row-gap: 1rem; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(55, 65, 81);"><i><span style="background-color: white; color: #b45f06;">The Honolulu elevated rail project, despite being behind schedule and over budget, has the potential to be successful in the long run. The project's main advantages are its speed, frequency, reliability, and safety, as well as the fact that it avoids traffic congestion altogether by being grade-separated.</span></i></span><span style="caret-color: rgb(55, 65, 81);"><i><span style="background-color: white; color: #b45f06;">The grade separation ensures that the elevated rail line will not interact with vehicles or pedestrians, reducing the risk of accidents and increasing overall safety. Additionally, the fact that trips between Kapolei and downtown Honolulu will take only 40 minutes is a significant advantage over other transportation options.</span></i></span><span style="caret-color: rgb(55, 65, 81);"><i><span style="background-color: white; color: #b45f06;">While it is true that the project has faced some challenges in terms of time and cost, it is essential to note that many large-scale infrastructure projects often experience delays and cost overruns. Nevertheless, the long-term benefits of the project should not be overlooked. The elevated rail line could significantly improve transportation options for commuters, reduce traffic congestion, and improve overall mobility in the region.</span></i></span><span style="caret-color: rgb(55, 65, 81);"><i><span style="background-color: white; color: #b45f06;">In summary, despite its current challenges, the Honolulu elevated rail project has the potential to be a successful long-term investment. Its advantages of speed, frequency, reliability, safety, and grade separation make it an attractive transportation option that could significantly benefit the community.</span></i></span><span style="caret-color: rgb(55, 65, 81);"><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(52, 53, 65); color: #343541;">You can see what this means, right? Engineers with no discernible writing talent (a judgment offered from personal experience) will input a few facts about their projects for the AI bot, hit ENTER, and sit back as AI produces serviceable content. </span></span><span style="caret-color: rgb(55, 65, 81);"><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(52, 53, 65); color: #343541;">Communications professionals? Who needs 'em?</span></span><span><span style="color: #343541;"><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(52, 53, 65);">Teachers at all levels already are coping with AI-written essays that students offer up as their own work. We're already in uncharted waters.</span></span></span><span><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(52, 53, 65); color: #343541;">Where will it end? I have no idea, but I do know writers and editors will be among the casualties. That realization is widespread; see </span><a href="https://futurism.com/the-byte/bosses-already-replacing-workers-with-ai" style="display: inline !important;">https://futurism.com/the-byte/bosses-already-replacing-workers-with-ai</a></span><span><span style="caret-color: rgb(52, 53, 65); color: #343541;"><i style="background-color: white;">This mini-essay was created by Yes2Rail's human originator.</i></span></span></div></div></div>Doug Carlsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10191683240304122047noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7937602330391830242.post-3346956245410446632022-03-16T03:57:00.007-10:002022-03-16T06:21:10.050-10:00The Inevitable Will Happen: Rail Will Be Completed and Fulfill its Goals by Stopping Short of Ala Moana Center<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjwgBCtNABnSNYqbeh3nG5SXLGXy8YKkMA0WgD-4Pufizbt2UnHAU0EUZeeg389dVIlFex7vS_4aLYJWicP1hw12IHoRyYmhZ83BMFKyd5eCDalqrJ_TRGIqN5U7Zm-7qzk-tt1OfY2-bP5qQb4ZSR2dYTAAJ6jDVj8x09qV92z24vk6t_5u4bGeJTJ=s1676" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1676" data-original-width="1665" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjwgBCtNABnSNYqbeh3nG5SXLGXy8YKkMA0WgD-4Pufizbt2UnHAU0EUZeeg389dVIlFex7vS_4aLYJWicP1hw12IHoRyYmhZ83BMFKyd5eCDalqrJ_TRGIqN5U7Zm-7qzk-tt1OfY2-bP5qQb4ZSR2dYTAAJ6jDVj8x09qV92z24vk6t_5u4bGeJTJ=s320" width="318" /></a></div><p></p><p><b> <span style="font-size: x-large;">It had to happen. It makes sense. </span></b><b><span style="font-size: x-large;">Honolulu can’t simply abandon rail after a majority of the line has been built.</span></b><b><span style="font-size: x-large;"> <a href="https://www.civilbeat.org/2022/03/honolulu-mayor-proposes-trimming-rail-line-stations-to-address-budget-woes/"><span style="color: #b45f06;">Rail’s east end will be in Kakaako</span></a>, not Ala Moana Center. Rail’s true purpose is a no-traffic transportation mode. Every post here at Yes2Rail remains valid. You’re encouraged to read some of them, starting with <a href="http://yes2rail.blogspot.com/2011/01/rails-goals-remain-same-in-new-year.html"><span style="color: #b45f06;">January 3, 2011</span></a>: ‘Rail’s Goals Remain the Same; Congestion-Free Travel through Town Tops List’</span></b></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>Doug Carlsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10191683240304122047noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7937602330391830242.post-27978253758054375502021-05-26T06:02:00.013-10:002023-06-03T13:37:50.762-10:00We’ll Say It Again: Civil Beat’s Recent Rail Poll Was Flawed; Voters-Only Survey Didn’t Even Ask Non-Voters What They Think about Rail, and They’re More Likely To Ride the Train than Voters!<p><b style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"></b></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXOMVcP_-VQi90hPxir5jVOB0O2nWapDIjp1G6BgTn7qwvpNqR9-zdKoPkZpJxaOqju9-f3RCD4MvoZexukzpaMGdYCWxto4d0U9LP8Y9DbP9gxCmdzEQR3IasTNztWT63IG4cahZiUwE/s688/Screen+Shot+2021-05-26+at+10.22.57+AM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="336" data-original-width="688" height="252" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXOMVcP_-VQi90hPxir5jVOB0O2nWapDIjp1G6BgTn7qwvpNqR9-zdKoPkZpJxaOqju9-f3RCD4MvoZexukzpaMGdYCWxto4d0U9LP8Y9DbP9gxCmdzEQR3IasTNztWT63IG4cahZiUwE/w516-h252/Screen+Shot+2021-05-26+at+10.22.57+AM.png" width="516" /></a></b></div><b style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><b><span style="color: #38761d; font-size: 14pt;"><p><b><b><span style="color: #38761d; font-size: 14pt;">Voters and non-voters behave differently. Voters are more likely to own and travel by car. Non-voters are more reliant on public transportation. You can look it up.</span></b></b></p></span></b></b><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><b><span style="color: #38761d; font-size: 14pt;">So, let’s say it again: By soliciting opinions on Honolulu’s rail project only among citizens who vote, Civil Beat’s pollsters ignored the population segment more reliant on public transit than the people they surveyed.<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><b><span style="color: #38761d; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><b><span style="font-size: 20pt;"><span style="color: #b45f06;">Journalism Integrity</span></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><b><span style="color: #38761d; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><b><span style="color: #38761d; font-size: 14pt;">I’ve been out of journalism for decades, but some instincts never die. Are there no reporters in Honolulu who see the inherent flaw in ignoring the population segment that likely will determine whether rail is a success?<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><b><span style="color: #38761d; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><b><span style="color: #38761d; font-size: 14pt;">Ridership will be the ultimate test. <i>Non-voting</i> transit riders and <i>non-voting</i> car commuters have opinions, too. What do </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="color: #b45f06;">THEY</span></span><span style="color: #38761d; font-size: 14pt;"> think about stopping rail construction at Middle Street, which is now a consideration? What percentage of them will likely leave their cars at home and take the train?<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><b><span style="color: #38761d; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><b><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="color: #38761d;">Civil Beat doesn’t know, </span><a href="https://www.civilbeat.org/2021/05/civil-beat-hnn-poll-majority-of-oahu-voters-oppose-rail-project/"><span style="color: #b45f06;">because it didn’t ask them</span></a><span style="color: #38761d;">. It never does, as seen in its opinion polls years ago. As retired UH political science professor </span><a href="http://yes2rail.blogspot.com/2012/08/our-criticism-of-likely-voter-only.html"><span style="color: #b45f06;">Neal Milner told me in 2012</span></a><span style="color: #38761d;">, </span><i><span style="color: #38761d;">"the media cannot say the 'public' feels this way about rail"</span></i><span style="color: #38761d;"> (see the link for context).</span></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><b><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="color: #38761d;"><br /></span></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(56, 118, 29);"><b><span style="font-size: x-large;">Until some entity does a scientific survey that cuts across the voter divide, we really don't know what "the public" thinks about rail -- especially the segment that likely will abandon cars and ride the train.</span></b></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><b><span style="color: #38761d; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></b></p>Doug Carlsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10191683240304122047noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7937602330391830242.post-31732015862759709782021-04-28T12:00:00.002-10:002021-04-28T12:01:41.226-10:0030 Years Ago, Honolulu's Rail Project Died; Let's Not Make that Horrible Mistake Again!<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4VLhv_P5yE0iWWNovR3dG6k6FIJwm103aK_tzCBaU3AbaEHybsmnhmm5-BUW5-8_w-lBDXjlYMAFJgiK8f0Ks2oUD6LKoDEDsOCSZuvSSj-8xwiQLQPBP81zLso8QUmsK5_v9w_Uq4jU/s1148/No+Again+on+Transit+Tax+--+Tiser.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1030" data-original-width="1148" height="414" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4VLhv_P5yE0iWWNovR3dG6k6FIJwm103aK_tzCBaU3AbaEHybsmnhmm5-BUW5-8_w-lBDXjlYMAFJgiK8f0Ks2oUD6LKoDEDsOCSZuvSSj-8xwiQLQPBP81zLso8QUmsK5_v9w_Uq4jU/w462-h414/No+Again+on+Transit+Tax+--+Tiser.png" width="462" /></a></div><span style="text-align: center;"> <i><span style="color: #b45f06;">Page 1 treatment of Honolulu Advertiser's 10/1/92 story on rail's demise.</span></i></span><br /> <p></p><p>When the City Council refused to pass a tax increase in 1991 to help fund the Fasi Administration's rail project, rail died and would stay dead for a decade. Ending Honolulu's current elevated train construction at Middle Street, as now some advocate, would be another colossal mistake.</p><p>Rail has always been envisioned as a relatively fast way to travel between Kapolei and downtown by giving riders a way to avoid highway congestion. Lopping off the final four miles between Middle Street and Ala Moana Center would effectively negate any speed advantage. Transferring from the train to TheBus would be inconvenient and a time-waster.</p><p>What was a $5 billion project in the early '90s is now forecast to top out at $12 billion-plus. Traffic congestion also has worsened -- and will continue grow along with Oahu's population and tourism expansion. </p><p>Stopping at Middle Street can't possibly be how today's funding shortfall is resolved. Finding new sources of funding is the only reasonable way to proceed -- whether it's by acquiring a tiny slice of the Biden Administration's infrastructure program or by tapping into the resources of Kakaako's landowners and property developers who stand to benefit from the system. </p><p>Everything the two Honolulu newspapers' editorials (below) said on October 1, 1992 applies to Oahu's current transportation problems. Let's work to ensure officials don't make another colossal transit mistake 30 years after the previous one.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9elMEF15rXTvGgV5QtsmAiYzcgmDsrlzkfOX4UCyL1jH9GmK7hXbmQNtWbZc3Sc__h3eg_TM6BKHaV658blFju7eJDKDAa6mQv2ILVMZf74Zoyccv1AsRjVkogqh2A0p9E_iszLvT2Rg/s1152/No+Again+Tiser+Editorial.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1152" data-original-width="770" height="319" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9elMEF15rXTvGgV5QtsmAiYzcgmDsrlzkfOX4UCyL1jH9GmK7hXbmQNtWbZc3Sc__h3eg_TM6BKHaV658blFju7eJDKDAa6mQv2ILVMZf74Zoyccv1AsRjVkogqh2A0p9E_iszLvT2Rg/w213-h319/No+Again+Tiser+Editorial.png" width="213" /></a> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEganYvSHHpksWbUSqANidIz_gEPw4WOQ6bLcofyycAHIei_YI4R8yP5WYz_JYKVdc4cjktePCwyZrw9ucnaXFFWrsFraZr1ObowKURzW-2IkNga0_UIfy9UDkw0I9jfXWFpvKXhznf94vY/s1268/No+Again+S-B+editorial.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1268" data-original-width="800" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEganYvSHHpksWbUSqANidIz_gEPw4WOQ6bLcofyycAHIei_YI4R8yP5WYz_JYKVdc4cjktePCwyZrw9ucnaXFFWrsFraZr1ObowKURzW-2IkNga0_UIfy9UDkw0I9jfXWFpvKXhznf94vY/s320/No+Again+S-B+editorial.png" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #783f04;"><i>Advertiser and Star-Bulletin editorials, both on 10/1/92</i></span><br /><br /></div><br /><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>Doug Carlsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10191683240304122047noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7937602330391830242.post-73434052662691424492021-04-27T07:40:00.012-10:002021-04-27T09:04:21.073-10:00Homework Assignment before Thursday’s TV Show: Read Why Rail Is Still a Must for Honolulu Despite New Challenges<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg80J0sdbaZx_SfcsHCRKGcKsxuIaBzo4iJbDZ1DPFVGEerGmsL1PmvAYrB78JFhhyphenhyphenCBkn1jsxO6-BzuWOOlwDgy8HpYFt6UDONlhRhpNx4z_VaGJ3LAPK2PpsTKQfM17I02ONrLhDcFrE/s1450/Lille+elevated+line.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="976" data-original-width="1450" height="281" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg80J0sdbaZx_SfcsHCRKGcKsxuIaBzo4iJbDZ1DPFVGEerGmsL1PmvAYrB78JFhhyphenhyphenCBkn1jsxO6-BzuWOOlwDgy8HpYFt6UDONlhRhpNx4z_VaGJ3LAPK2PpsTKQfM17I02ONrLhDcFrE/w418-h281/Lille+elevated+line.png" width="418" /></a></div><span style="color: #b45f06; font-size: x-small;"><i><span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></i></span><i>Elevated Transit in Lille, France</i><p></p><p><b style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="color: #38761d; font-size: 14pt;">Mayor Frank Fasi arrived in Paris 30 years ago this month at the invitation of Matra Transport, the Paris-based company that would soon submit a bid to build an elevated rail line between Kapolei and UH Manoa.</span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><b><span style="color: #38761d; font-size: 14pt;">Fasi and his entourage traveled by train to Lille in France’s north to inspect Matra’s elevated system there. He stood beneath the guideway (pictured above) and asked Matra’s representative when the next train would arrive.<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><b><span style="color: #38761d; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><b><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><i><span style="color: #b45f06;">“They’ve been passing overhead for several minutes,”</span></i><span style="color: #38761d;"> was the reply by John Marino, Matra's North American marketing director. Fasi was shocked he hadn’t heard those trains, so quiet was the system.<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><b><span style="color: #38761d; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><b><span style="color: #38761d; font-size: 14pt;">Matra didn’t win the bid to build Honolulu’s $3.7 billion project. Another consortium did, but the project died in 1992 after the City Council defeated <i>by one vote</i> a local tax to help pay for the project.<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><b><span style="color: #38761d; font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><b><span style="color: #38761d; font-size: 14.5pt;">Today, Honolulu’s resurrected system is miles shorter and vastly more expensive than the plan pursued by Frank Fasi,<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span></b><b><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 14.5pt;"><a href="https://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/story/11937466/fasi-remembered-as-rail-champion/" style="color: #954f72;"><span style="color: #b45f06; text-decoration: none;">a rail <span style="caret-color: rgb(56, 118, 29);">champion across the decades</span></span></a></span></b><b><span style="color: #38761d; font-size: 14.5pt;">. Honolulu officials and citizens now debate whether it’s worth it to fund the final four miles of the line. </span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><b><span style="color: #38761d; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><b><span style="color: #b45f06; font-size: x-large;">The Need Has Never Changed</span><span style="color: #38761d; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><b><span style="color: #38761d; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><b><span style="color: #38761d; font-size: 14pt;">Ending construction at Middle Street would slash billions from the project’s cost, but doing so would cripple the effort to build a relatively fast transit line between residential communities in West Oahu and Honolulu’s employment center downtown.<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><b><span style="color: #38761d; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><b><span style="color: #38761d; font-size: 14pt;">Thursday night’s “Insights” program on PBS Hawaii’s TV channel will be devoted to “Honolulu’s Rail System – Where Are We Now?” Citizens might well prepare for that show by reviewing the rationale to build grade-separated transit along Oahu’s southern corridor.<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><b><span style="color: #38761d; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><b><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><a href="https://arxiv.org/pdf/1605.00002.pdf"><span style="color: #b45f06;">An exhaustive planning study</span></a></span><span style="color: #38761d; font-size: 14pt;"> by the University of California, Berkeley examined why Honolulu is well-suited for elevated transit. The study is several years old, but the case for building a travel alternative to the automobile is unchanged. The study’s introduction notes:</span></b><b><span style="color: #38761d; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></b></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in;"><span style="font-family: MinionPro, serif; font-size: 14pt;"><i>The Honolulu urban area is the fourth densest in the United States, trailing only those of Los Angeles, San Francisco-San Jose, and New York. Honolulu was the most traffic- congested U.S. city in 2011, ahead of stalwarts like Los Angeles and San Francisco (INRIX 2012). Yet unlike Los Angeles and San Francisco, Honolulu has not had an operational rail transit system to serve as an alternative to automobility since the early 20<span style="position: relative; top: -4pt;">th </span>century….</i></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><b><span style="color: #b45f06; font-size: x-large;">‘Train to Nowhere?’</span><span style="color: #38761d; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><b><span style="color: #38761d; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><b><span style="color: #38761d; font-size: 14pt;">Ending the line at Middle Street would match rail critics’ description of Honolulu’s current project, but leaving that argument aside, Honolulu residents might well scan the Berkeley document for its scholarly assessment of the need for rail transit here. Then watch “Insights” on Thursday at 8 p.m. <o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><b><span style="color: #38761d; font-size: 14pt;"> <o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><b><span style="color: #38761d; font-size: 14pt;">Yes2Rail’s own background site is linked at the Aggregate Site in the right column above. Especially recommended are the project’s goals. </span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><b><span style="color: #38761d; font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><b><span style="color: #38761d; font-size: 14pt;">We also propose a rallying cry at this critical stage of the project:<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><b><span style="color: #38761d; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><b><span style="color: #b45f06; font-size: x-large;">“Get Rail Done!”</span><span style="color: #38761d; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></p>Doug Carlsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10191683240304122047noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7937602330391830242.post-8216975722818477442021-04-25T10:17:00.005-10:002021-04-25T11:35:27.181-10:00Rail Enjoys New Push for a Final Resolution, and the Only Sane Path Is Completing the Project as Originally Envisioned<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEpQfMHUwEkwSMSpEbruqz9X2XFNAXjV_kCJDynKOIQJA_dirfq7xfGvR0hSOjhfUyIJ5Ae3u4Mm552m7GgXxI7aojm-xJJiavqm9BGWAwxG_r2dXg6EG0_HxW-6vtQLc1uWutcKMEs8s/s1310/Screen+Shot+2021-04-25+at+2.01.07+PM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="876" data-original-width="1310" height="326" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEpQfMHUwEkwSMSpEbruqz9X2XFNAXjV_kCJDynKOIQJA_dirfq7xfGvR0hSOjhfUyIJ5Ae3u4Mm552m7GgXxI7aojm-xJJiavqm9BGWAwxG_r2dXg6EG0_HxW-6vtQLc1uWutcKMEs8s/w487-h326/Screen+Shot+2021-04-25+at+2.01.07+PM.png" width="487" /></a></div><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i> </i><b>Dillingham Boulevard </b><i>Civil Beat Photo</i></span><br /> <p></p><p><b style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><a href="https://www.civilbeat.org/2021/04/the-mauka-shift-could-solve-rails-utility-woes-why-did-it-happen-so-late/"><span style="color: #b45f06;">Civil Beat reports on the “Mauka Shift”</span></a><span style="color: #38761d;"> – the proposal to move the elevated rail alignment from the center of Dillingham Boulevard to the mauka side of the thoroughfare.</span></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><b><span style="color: #38761d; font-size: 14pt;">The shift presumably would reduce the complications of relocating miles of utility infrastructure beneath and alongside Dillingham. It’s become a Gordian knot-like problem for HART.<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><b><span style="color: #38761d; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><b><span style="color: #38761d; font-size: 14pt;">According to legend, Alexander the Great tried but failed to untie the fabled knot. His solution was to atop the untying and start the cutting. He sliced the knot in two with his sword. “It makes no difference how they are loosed,” he said of the rope tangle.<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><b><span style="color: #38761d; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><b><span style="color: #38761d; font-size: 14pt;">The Mauka Shift appears to be HART’s solution to untangling the utility infrastructure. Just move the alignment.<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><b><span style="color: #38761d; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><b><span style="color: #b45f06; font-size: x-large;">“Get Rail Done!”</span><span style="color: #38761d; font-size: medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><b><span style="color: #38761d; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><b><span style="color: #38761d; font-size: 14pt;">You get the feeling the logjam is about to break, and the timing couldn’t be better. The new President is pushing for a $2 Trillion infrastructure improvement and rebuilding plan. HART is vowing to cut the Dillingham Knot, and the public engagement process is picking up.<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><b><span style="color: #38761d; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><b><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="color: #38761d;">PBS Hawaii’s “Insights” program </span><span style="color: #b45f06;"><a href="https://www.pbshawaii.org/the-honolulus-rail-system-where-are-we-now/"><span style="color: #b45f06;">has scheduled another rail program for April 29</span></a> </span></span><span style="color: #38761d; font-size: 14pt;">at 8 p.m.: “Honolulu’s Rail System – Where Are We Now?”<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><b><span style="color: #38761d; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><b><span style="color: #38761d; font-size: 14pt;">Let’s hope Thursday’s rail discussion is enlightened and not bogged down by unproductive suggestions to kill the project, and what – leave 15 miles of guideway and support structures as a perpetual reminder of failure?<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><b><span style="color: #38761d; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><b><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="color: #38761d;">No, rail needs to be built at least into downtown to satisfy </span><a href="http://yes2rail.blogspot.com/2009/02/rail-transit-goals-include-better.html"><span style="color: #b45f06;">rail's original goals</span></a><span style="color: #38761d;">, including restoration of mobility along the southern corridor. <o:p></o:p></span></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><b><span style="color: #38761d; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><b><span style="color: #38761d; font-size: 14pt;">Here’s my comment today below Civil Beat’s rail story:<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><b><span style="color: #38761d; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="color: #b45f06;"><i><span style="font-family: arial;"><b><span style="font-size: 14pt;">“</span></b><b><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 14pt;">I propose taking one option off the table regarding rail. For the sake of clarity, stop any consideration to end this project before it is built out at least to downtown Honolulu. Use the Mauka Shift if that becomes a necessity, but build rail to a useful conclusion. Traffic is worsening by the day, let alone in future decades. Grade-separated transit is the only alternative to being stuck in that traffic. Rail won’t “solve” traffic; short of draconian policies, nothing will ever solve traffic. But rail will be the option to avoid traffic for those who choose to ride it.</span></b></span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white;"> </span></i></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><b><span style="color: #38761d; font-size: 14pt;">Great Britain untied itself from Europe behind the simple “Get Brexit Done” slogan. That disengagement was far more complicated than building four miles of elevated guideway along Dillingham Boulevard. </span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><b><span style="color: #38761d; font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><b><span style="color: #38761d; font-size: 14pt;">So HART, simplify and just.....<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><b><span style="color: #38761d; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><b><span style="color: #b45f06; font-family: arial; font-size: x-large;">“Get Rail Done!” </span><span style="color: #38761d; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></p>Doug Carlsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10191683240304122047noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7937602330391830242.post-74224504760500118352021-01-05T10:03:00.005-10:002021-01-05T10:40:44.063-10:00Shapiro’s First 2021 Column Offers ‘Fair Shot’ to New HART Chief; That Would Be a First for the Always Anti-Rail Writer<p><b style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="color: #38761d; font-size: 14pt;">David Shapiro’s January 3 column in the Star-Advertiser said the new CEO of the Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation “deserves a fair shot to show what she can do.”</span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><b><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="color: #38761d;">Will Shapiro keep </span><a href="http://yes2rail.blogspot.com/2012/01/not-very-courageous-prediction-for-2012.html"><span style="color: #b45f06;">his perennial anti-rail views</span></a> </span></b><b><span style="color: #38761d; font-size: 14pt;">in check long enough for Lori Kahikina </span></b><b><span style="color: #38761d; font-size: 14pt;">to enjoy that fair shot? </span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><b><span style="color: #38761d; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><b><span style="color: #38761d; font-size: 14pt;">That will be a stretch; Shapiro’s been anti-rail since the start of the current project. And true to form, in the same paragraph he wished a fair shot for Kahikina, he fired another shot at rail by calling the project “ill-conceived.” <o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><b><span style="color: #38761d; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><b><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="color: #38761d;">There was nothing wrong with how rail was conceived. If Shapiro had understood </span><a href="http://yes2rail.blogspot.com/2011/01/rails-goals-remain-same-in-new-year.html"><span style="color: #b45f06;">the project’s goals</span></a><span style="color: #38761d;"> from the start, he might well have been more of a supporter and less of a contributor to the caustic atmosphere that impeded rail’s progress. (Yeah, that's probably a stretch, too.)<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><b><span style="color: #38761d; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><b><span style="color: #38761d; font-size: 14pt;">Even Shapiro has to concede the need for a travel alternative for commuters moving through Oahu’s southern corridor. And, Dave, here's a news flash: Elevated rail is the ONLY way commuters and others can avoid ever-increasing traffic congestion on the island’s limited road network. <o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><b><span style="color: #38761d; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><b><span style="color: #38761d; font-size: 14pt;">The project’s four goals address Oahu’s decades-long reduction in mobility. Once completed, the rail project will restore mobility to commuters and other passengers along the island’s southern transit corridor. <o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><b><span style="color: #38761d; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><b><span style="color: #38761d; font-size: 14pt;">So yes – give Lori Kahikina a fair shot as she begins one of the most difficult undertakings in Hawaii government. Let’s see what she can do with support rather than constant opposition.<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><b><span style="color: #38761d; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><b><span style="color: #38761d; font-size: 14pt;">Ms. Kahikina needs all the support the community can deliver as she plots the path to build rail as originally planned </span></b><b><span style="color: #38761d; font-size: 14pt;">– </span></b><b><span style="color: #38761d; font-size: 14pt;">all 20 miles of it.<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>Doug Carlsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10191683240304122047noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7937602330391830242.post-9085841129530066262020-12-31T07:26:00.023-10:002020-12-31T08:43:18.295-10:00Honolulu Rail Project Ends 2020 Like Just about Everything Else Ends the Year – Side-Tracked and Delayed, but with Hope for the Future<p> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaeh5lMKQmfCgdyb22ooGsP_EH501CQTfbX6ekTXSVrRC0Ii08X3B2TPNff82XVkWQknL63u1bTeOvslokEa9gr_Ay1pHCk8as5nVG4GtCCG9lKiTPMKYaP4kShSY4iSfIjc-EvgZsfWE/s1278/Civil+Beat+shot.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="848" data-original-width="1278" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaeh5lMKQmfCgdyb22ooGsP_EH501CQTfbX6ekTXSVrRC0Ii08X3B2TPNff82XVkWQknL63u1bTeOvslokEa9gr_Ay1pHCk8as5nVG4GtCCG9lKiTPMKYaP4kShSY4iSfIjc-EvgZsfWE/s320/Civil+Beat+shot.png" width="320" /></a></p><span style="color: #b45f06;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(180, 95, 6);"><i> When will Honolulu's elevated rail project be completed?</i></span></span><p></p><p><b style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="color: #38761d; font-size: 14pt;">Yes2Rail’s author has had an up-close-and-personal view of Honolulu’s rail romance since 1990. That’s when I first began working as a consultant to the French transit-building company Matra Transport, one of five firms that bid on Mayor Frank Fasi’s last major push to build an elevated rail alternative to sitting in at-grade traffic.</span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><b><span style="color: #38761d; font-size: 14pt;">That effort ended abruptly in 1992 when the City Council failed to pass an increase in the GET to pay for the “local share.” The City wised up when it launched the current project more than a decade later. It handled the local share first, then obtained the federal portion, and then solicited bids to build the 20-mile line from Kapolei to Ala Moana Center. <o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><b><span style="color: #38761d; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><b><span style="color: #38761d; font-size: 14pt;">Like the current project, Mayor Fasi’s version would have covered 20 miles but would have ended at the University of Hawaii campus in Manoa. The cost: $3.2 billion compared to what now looks like a $11 billion-plus investment. Fearless Frank’s train would have been running since 2003.<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><b><span style="color: #38761d; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><b><span style="color: #b45f06; font-size: x-large;">That Was Then</span><span style="color: #38761d; font-size: medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><b><span style="color: #38761d; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><b><span style="color: #38761d; font-size: 14pt;">I mention this little bit of history to show how badly the project has fared in its current iteration. Instead of already giving traffic-maddened commuters on Oahu’s south side a smooth trip to and from downtown for nearly two decades, the project still faces major delays and horrendous cost increases. <o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><b><span style="color: #38761d; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><b><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="color: #38761d;">The commuting facts of life remain unchanged in the southern corridor. One fact still justifies the project: </span><i><span style="color: #b45f06;">Grade-separated transit is the only way to predict the time of arrival when you begin your commute -- on time, every time.</span></i><span style="color: #38761d;"> There will be no Kapolei-to-downtown commuting alternative to sitting in traffic for the rest of this century if rail is not built as originally planned.<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><b><span style="color: #38761d; font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><b></b></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxbB8iLBT4H24U7eSu2pIhhDG5P5d2est5DCqIw_C8tlvR-6N0ABIpHs3jLspRVk5s5vdQ0DepF3Xfj-qmogIr2sRQf28FbBNlAeS8zrrSFeWealy4JjAqFlY4lPACRZKhIJpjOT2XQK8/s996/elevated+train.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="996" data-original-width="924" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxbB8iLBT4H24U7eSu2pIhhDG5P5d2est5DCqIw_C8tlvR-6N0ABIpHs3jLspRVk5s5vdQ0DepF3Xfj-qmogIr2sRQf28FbBNlAeS8zrrSFeWealy4JjAqFlY4lPACRZKhIJpjOT2XQK8/s320/elevated+train.png" /></a></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #b45f06;"><i>See the lower-right corner? Traffic will NEVER get better.</i></span></b></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><b><span style="color: #b45f06; font-size: x-small;"><i><br /></i></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><b><span style="color: #38761d; font-size: 14pt;">This anti-rail cartoon clipped from <i>Honolulu Weekly</i> years ago has multiple truths. Taxpayers indeed have had their tax burden increased to support the project. Also true is that the gridlock depicted in the cartoon has only gotten worse. <o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><b><span style="color: #38761d; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><b><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="color: #38761d;">The project’s </span><span style="color: #b45f06;"><a href="http://yes2rail.blogspot.com/2011/01/rails-goals-remain-same-in-new-year.html"><span style="color: #b45f06;">four main goals</span></a> </span><span style="color: #38761d;">will be as valid in 2021 as they were when originally created more than a decade ago. First among those equal goals is </span><a href="http://yes2rail.blogspot.com/2011/01/rails-all-important-goal-improved.html"><span style="color: #b45f06;">improved corridor mobility</span></a><span style="color: #38761d;">. <o:p></o:p></span></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><b><span style="color: #38761d; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><b><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="color: #38761d;">As 2020 ends today, glimmers of good news shine through the gloom. The federal government has granted the city </span><a href="https://www.masstransitmag.com/rail/news/21204192/hi-lori-kahikina-city-environmental-services-director-is-named-interim-chief-of-honolulu-rail-project"><span style="color: #b45f06;">a one-year extension</span></a><span style="color: #38761d;"> of the deadline it had set to devise a viable financial plan to complete the build-out. And, the newly appointed leader of the Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation has said she supports building the final five miles of the elevated guideway all the way to Ala Moana Center.<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><b><span style="color: #38761d; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><b><span style="color: #38761d; font-size: 14pt;">With 2020 behind us, rail supporters can at least take some measure of hope that 2021 will be a new beginning for the project – and for just about everything else.<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>Doug Carlsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10191683240304122047noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7937602330391830242.post-75280558439131654652020-03-16T08:24:00.004-10:002020-03-16T08:37:39.945-10:00HART: Despite COVID-19, “Right Now We Are on Our Schedule” To Begin Rail Operations Late this Year<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="color: #b45f06; font-size: x-small;"><i> </i></span><i style="color: #b45f06;">Honolulu Star-Advertiser photo</i><br />
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<b><span style="color: #38761d;">It’s way too soon to know for sure, but the head of the Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transit (HART) is sticking to his prediction that Honolulu’s elevated rail project will launch service late this year – coronavirus notwithstanding.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #38761d;">Andrew Robbins, HART’s chief executive officer, <a href="https://www.staradvertiser.com/2020/03/16/hawaii-news/covid-19-wont-delay-rails-scheduled-opening-this-year-says-the-head-of-hart/">told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser</a>: </span><i><span style="background-color: white; color: #548235;">“We talked to our contractors. … They’ve all been advising their employees about hand-washing, safe practices, if you don’t feel well, who to call; but other than that, it’s been business as usual. They’ve been out there working.”</span></i></b><o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><span style="color: #38761d;">Hitachi Rail, the project’s contractor, has warned that its supply chain may be affected by the worldwide coronavirus pandemic and has thereby taken the position that it should not suffer “force majeure” penalties if it can’t stick to its schedule. As the Star-Advertiser story notes, HART doesn’t agree.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh27egd8Bwvr3iw4lGX7qYLVblfG_6Q1Z6UDGBCaIhMUw7crx5KgpFTYwyvEwF4wgf5O096FUKdVQa1MG0EdUebNmRnvspmgFjFhQj2kECOqY2xl1bNpl0JU2yfAzbw8IO12ffbWEbnnQ8/s1600/Platform+door.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="906" data-original-width="1600" height="361" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh27egd8Bwvr3iw4lGX7qYLVblfG_6Q1Z6UDGBCaIhMUw7crx5KgpFTYwyvEwF4wgf5O096FUKdVQa1MG0EdUebNmRnvspmgFjFhQj2kECOqY2xl1bNpl0JU2yfAzbw8IO12ffbWEbnnQ8/s640/Platform+door.png" width="640" /></a></div>
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<b><span style="color: #b45f06; font-size: xx-small;"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;"> </span>Platform safety doors (HART photograph)</i></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #38761d;">In other “news” (that’s nearly 7 years old), Honolulu’s elevated rail system will be far safer than planned when we broke off writing Yes2Rail in 2012.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #38761d;">HART approved the addition of Platform Safety Screens <a href="http://hartdocs.honolulu.gov/docushare/dsweb/Get/Document-18258/20130906-weekly-eblast.pdf">back in 2013</a> that will prevent passengers from accidentally falling, being pushed, or deliberately jumping onto the tracks.</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #38761d;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">We had seen these safety doors in action in Paris when we visited more than a decade ago; the photo (below-right) was taken from inside a train car. Two sets of doors are visible in the photo -- doors on the train itself (the shiny chrome set) and doors on the platform (showing as white). The doors open simultaneously in sync with one another, just like the elevators in a building.</span></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #38761d; font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">These doors were on the high-traffic Line #1, <span style="caret-color: rgb(56, 118, 29);">which</span> runs east-west through the heart of Paris. The doors were added long long after the Paris Metro began operating.</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #38761d;">The change to add doors on the Honolulu system is likely an under-appreciated feature by future riders. If you’re like us, you edge away from the tracks as a train arrives in a subway or metro station. The safety doors may even convince parents and grandparents that young school-age children in their families can ride Honolulu rail safely.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #38761d;">For now, stay safe by maintaining your social distancing during the COVID-19 crisis!<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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Doug Carlsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10191683240304122047noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7937602330391830242.post-32671309382516734322020-03-09T13:28:00.001-10:002020-03-10T15:25:12.546-10:00How Is it that Honolulu Isn’t Ranked in the Inrix Annual Traffic Study this Year? Our Eyes Tell Us Oahu’s Traffic Is Increasing, so What Gives?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<b><span style="color: #38761d;">The new international <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/greggardner/2020/03/09/americans-lost-nearly-100-hours-to-traffic-in-2019-says-inrix/#7d1f8bbe7d5c">study is out today,</a> and unlike every other year we can recall, Honolulu’s not in it. At least, we couldn’t find any mention of driving hours lost to congestion in Honolulu due to traffic in 2019.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #38761d;">That seems curious. The 2018 study <a href="https://blog.cheapism.com/most-congested-cities/#slide=14">ranked Honolulu #18</a> on the national list, with the average 92 hours lost to congestion. The ’18 report said congestion had dropped 4 percent from the year before, so Honolulu appeared “to be on the right track.”<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #38761d;">But does anyone believe Honolulu’s traffic improved so much in 2019 that the city dropped completely off the list of America’s 50 most heavily congested cities? </span></b><b><span style="color: #38761d;"> </span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #b45f06;">Not likely</span><span style="color: #38761d;"> </span></span></b><br />
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<b><span style="color: #38761d;">TomTom, a company that uses a different methodology, <a href="https://www.tomtom.com/en_gb/traffic-index/ranking/?country=US">ranked Honolulu #9 just last year</a> </span></b><b><span style="color: #38761d;">in the mix with mainland cities </span></b><b><span style="color: #38761d;">using its Traffic Index. </span></b><b><span style="color: #38761d;">As recently as 2012, Honolulu edged out <i>Los Angeles</i> for <a href="https://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/story/18599683/honolulu-ranked-worst-in-country-for-traffic/">the infamous #1 rank</a> among mainland cities for hours lost to congestion. In 2013, it was the second worst; 2015 had the city as 10th worst.</span></b></div>
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<b style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="color: #38761d;">So for the city to slip completely off the list seems not likely. Maybe one of our media friends can figure out why Inrex's new ranking excludes </span></b><span style="color: #38761d; font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(56, 118, 29);"><b><span style="color: #38761d;">Honolulu.</span><span style="color: #b45f06; font-size: large;">**</span><span style="color: #38761d;"> </span></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #38761d; font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(56, 118, 29);"><b>Or is it simply that congestion elsewhere is increasing so fast that Honolulu's been surpassed.</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #38761d; font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(56, 118, 29);"><b>It sure doesn't feel like traffic's getting better in Honolulu. Maybe this is just another example of Hawaii being "left out" of the United States -- something that used to happen so often in mainland publications that it would drive <a href="https://www.bizjournals.com/pacific/stories/2008/03/31/daily16.html">Pacific Business News E</a></b></span></span><b style="color: #38761d; font-family: "times new roman", serif;"><a href="https://www.bizjournals.com/pacific/stories/2008/03/31/daily16.html">ditor George Mason</a> to distraction!</b><br />
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<b style="font-family: "times new roman", serif;"><span style="color: #b45f06; font-size: large;">**</span></b><b style="color: #38761d; font-family: "times new roman", serif;"> A local reporter saw my Twitter post (@DougNorCal) and responded: </b><b style="font-family: "times new roman", serif;"><span style="color: #b45f06;"><i>"I wondered about that too -- reached out to @INRIX this morning; haven't heard back yet..." </i></span></b><b style="caret-color: rgb(56, 118, 29); color: #38761d; font-family: "times new roman", serif;">Will be watching to see if he writes about a response from Inrix.</b><br />
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<br />Doug Carlsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10191683240304122047noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7937602330391830242.post-35158190171688227312020-03-04T12:31:00.000-10:002020-03-04T14:13:50.836-10:00Defeat of Bay Area Rail Funding Measure Shows Why It’s So Important for the Public (and News Media) To Understand Rail’s True Purpose <div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
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<b><i><span style="color: #38761d;">San Jose Mercury-News</span></i></b><b><span style="color: #38761d;"> headline on March 4:</span></b><br />
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<b><span style="color: #38761d;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Contra Costa County tax measure to tame traffic appears headed for defeat</span></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #38761d;">The <i>San Francisco Chronicle</i>’s coverage of the vote noted the funding measure <i>“drew criticism from government watchdogs who said the money would do little to unclog roads and freeways.”</i><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #38761d;">The <i>Mercury-News</i> headline and <i>Chronicle</i> story may reveal a touch of media misunderstanding about why rail systems are built. If the news media don’t get it, the public may not have understood it either.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #38761d;">Rail projects don’t “tame traffic” or “unclog roads and freeways.” </span></b><b><span style="color: #38761d;">They provide the public with an <i>alternative</i> to road congestion. </span></b><br />
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<b><span style="color: #b45f06;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Tired of fighting traffic? Take the train!</span></span></b><br />
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<b><span style="color: #38761d;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">Researchers have written extensively about the tendency of car drivers to fill any perceived open space on highways; you can read about it </span><a href="https://www.citylab.com/transportation/2013/02/why-people-chose-cars-even-when-metro-would-be-faster/4566/" style="font-family: "times new roman", serif;">here</a><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">. But enough Honolulu commuters will resist that tendency to make Honolulu rail a tremendous success.</span></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #38761d;"><span style="color: #38761d;">Rail’s supporters would do well to keep reminding their friends and neighbors of </span><a href="http://yes2rail.blogspot.com/2011/01/rails-goals-remain-same-in-new-year.html" style="color: #38761d;">the project’s goals</a><span style="color: #38761d;">. The train will deliver commuters from one end of the system to the other in only 42 minutes -- </span><i style="color: #b45f06;">with no traffic congestion </i><span style="color: #38761d;">to slow the trip!<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #38761d;">There’s <i>nothing</i> “government watchdogs” can say that will diminish rail's no-traffic appeal. <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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Doug Carlsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10191683240304122047noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7937602330391830242.post-40639267016234692042020-02-27T07:26:00.001-10:002020-07-05T12:58:10.238-10:00In Reporting the ‘Other Side’ of Rail Story, Honolulu Media Keep Publicizing Views of Critic Known for His Decades-Long Campaign to Mislead the Public and Obfuscate Facts<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<b><span style="color: #38761d;">You can’t blame the news media for searching out rail critic Cliff Slater when they need a rail opponent’s views for an emerging story. He’s been fighting rail since the Fasi Administration and is always ready with a quote, a<a href="https://www.kitv.com/story/41822825/cost-for-rail-operations-revealed">s he was yesterday for KITV</a>.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #38761d;">But you do have to wonder if reporters understand the depth of his misrepresentation of rail facts over the years. We’ve repeatedly documented his record here at Yes2Rail (see the </span><span style="color: #b45f06;">Mr. Cliff Slater</span><span style="color: #38761d;"> section of our “<a href="http://yes2rail.blogspot.com/2012/01/one-stop-site-for-major-honolulu-rail.html">Aggregation Site</a>”) and will keep at it as long as Slater continues to be the media’s go-to anti-rail talking head.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #38761d;">Reporters show no obvious awareness of Slater’s track record as Obfuscator in Chief. I’ve never seen a reporter put Slater on the defensive about his main talking point.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #b45f06; font-size: large;">‘No Kidding’</span><span style="color: #38761d;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #38761d;">Slater seemed to be prideful of that talking point </span><a href="https://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/story/19152246/rail-poll-pumps-up-opponents-and-supporters/">when he spoke to Hawaii News Now</a><span style="color: #38761d;"><a href="https://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/story/19152246/rail-poll-pumps-up-opponents-and-supporters/"> </a>in 2012: </span><i><span style="color: #b45f06;">“We’ve been promoting the fact that the city says in the final EIS that traffic congestion with rail in the future will be worse (than it is today).”</span></i><span style="color: #38761d;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #38761d;">Two years earlier, Slater used that point before the City Council, only to have Wayne Yoshioka, the city’s Director of Transportation Services, <a href="http://yes2rail.blogspot.com/2010/07/true-confessions-rail-opponent-concedes.html">sarcastically put him in his place</a>: </span><i><span style="color: #b45f06;">“No Kidding, in the future, traffic congestion will be greater than it is today. I don’t think that’s any earth-shattering news….”</span><span style="color: #38761d;"><o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #38761d;">Yoshioka’s point was that congestion will continue to grow along with the population and that it will be worse without rail than with it. Even Slater had to admit that point when pressed at the City Council hearing.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #38761d;">But have the media ever taken note of Slater’s deliberate obfuscation? Even the <a href="http://www.honolulutraffic.com/mission.htm">mission statement at his website </a>hides the fact that traffic congestion is here to stay for reasons we’ve discussed here at Yes2Rail as recently as this month.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #38761d;">So reporters (if any of you accidently stumble across Yes2Rail), please stop giving Cliff Slater a free pass. Ask him straight out: </span><i><span style="color: #b45f06;">“Will building rail slow traffic congestion's growth along Oahu’s commuting corridor?”</span></i><span style="color: #38761d;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #38761d; font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">The honest answer is </span><span style="color: #b45f06; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><i>Yes<span style="caret-color: rgb(56, 118, 29);">!</span></i></span></b></div>
Doug Carlsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10191683240304122047noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7937602330391830242.post-12645525953341989932020-02-25T09:40:00.000-10:002020-02-25T09:44:01.340-10:00Rail Will Be a Choice! The truth about riding Honolulu rail is that those who do will experience ZERO TRAFFIC! <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<b><span style="color: #38761d; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">It’s almost impossible to read a week of media reports on Honolulu’s rail project without finding a reference to rail being an intended “solution” to Oahu’s traffic woes.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #38761d; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">The media have gotten that wrong time and again, so it’s appropriate to remind the public (and the media) about why rail is being built.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #38761d; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">Here’s a paragraph from <a href="http://yes2rail.blogspot.com/2011/05/poll-shows-honolulu-rail-support-still.html">this blog’s post on May 16, 2011</a>: <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span class="apple-style-span"><b><span style="color: #b45f06; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 18pt;">Rail’s True Purpose</span></b></span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Rail will restore MOBILITY to Oahu residents</span></b><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">– the ability to move whenever you want and at any time of day through the length of the east-west urban core completely unaffected by traffic congestion. This fact is so critical it’s first among equals in <a href="http://yes2rail.blogspot.com/2011/01/rails-goals-remain-same-in-new-year.html">the project's four goals</a>.</span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span><b><i style="caret-color: rgb(34, 34, 34);"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">“Solving traffic” is not one of them!</span></i></b><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">It’s also what is missing in nearly all media coverage of the project.</span></span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><span style="color: #38761d;">Readers in 2020 are invited to read that 5/16/11 post in full at the above link. <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #38761d;">Rather than focus on the dismal truth, that traffic will continue to grow along with the population, visitors, and car imports, let’s keep reminding the public of rail’s true purpose – increased mobility and traffic-free commuting through Oahu’s southern corridor. <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #38761d;">The only way to avoid traffic in Oahu's congested future is to remove yourself <i>from</i> the traffic by riding Honolulu's rail system – <i>above</i> the traffic.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
Doug Carlsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10191683240304122047noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7937602330391830242.post-83810451963995774552020-02-21T08:31:00.003-10:002020-02-21T08:35:41.744-10:00Well-Researched Bloomberg Article on Honolulu Rail Project’s Financing Nevertheless Gets Something Wrong – Something That Needs Correcting<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGg2kjQ31luXDY6TrTDBi6GgoU_rgKnbCMjQmx6wV1gP5iyWWQYtPTQFv1m0cxzvol3Z4YvLSmvrD0Vvkps0nDw6QJ9He_VPJI_qweXZMa_WNTRQPpX62rf4gbbm4GMhuGY9wTKEAqgsY/s1600/TOT+1.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="874" data-original-width="1312" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGg2kjQ31luXDY6TrTDBi6GgoU_rgKnbCMjQmx6wV1gP5iyWWQYtPTQFv1m0cxzvol3Z4YvLSmvrD0Vvkps0nDw6QJ9He_VPJI_qweXZMa_WNTRQPpX62rf4gbbm4GMhuGY9wTKEAqgsY/s400/TOT+1.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>View of </i><span style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: "titillium web" , serif; text-align: start;"><i><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Hō‘ae‘ae Station that will serve West Loch, Ewa Beach, and Waipahu<br />illustrates how commuters will ride above street traffic. -- HART Photo</span></i></span></span></b></td></tr>
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<b><span style="color: #38761d; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">As a former reporter (and current media trainer), I tell clients it’s difficult for reporters to get every fact straight in their stories. <i>That’s why </i>(free tip)<i> newsmakers have an obligation to help reporters get the facts right. </i><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #38761d; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">A recent <a href="https://finance.yahoo.com/news/honolulu-makes-long-term-bet-145749594.html">Bloomberg news agency story</a> on the Honolulu rail project is a case in point. The story reported on Honolulu’s sale of general obligation bonds to help finance construction of the rail project. <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #38761d; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">Reporter Joe Mysak noted: </span></b><b><i><span style="color: #c0630b; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">“There are two things you can say about building a rail transit project: They sure are expensive, and they sure are worth it.”</span></i></b><b><i><span style="background-color: white; color: #c00000; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"></span></i></b><b><i><span style="background-color: white; color: #365723; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #38761d; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">Oahu residents are learning about the former and are looking forward to the “worth it” part. Yes2Rail’s never-ending theme is that grade-separated transit – elevated in Honolulu’s case – is worth it because it’s the only way to completely avoid being stuck in traffic on the daily commute. The photograph above illustrates the concept; rail commuters will glide on rail tracks 30 or more feet above cars in the grind.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #38761d; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">Mr. Mysak, who clearly understands the benefits of grade-separated transit, ends his article: </span></b><b><i><span style="color: #c0630b; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">“With the train financing, Honolulu is betting on its own future, one with fewer cars and buses. That’s a pretty good bet.”</span></i></b><b><span style="color: #c0630b; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"></span></b><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #38761d; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">And that’s where he goes slightly off the rails. Honolulu’s project never promised to “solve” traffic or reduce the number of cars and buses on the roads. The <a href="http://yes2rail.blogspot.com/2011/01/rails-goals-remain-same-in-new-year.html">project’s #1 goal</a> is to improve mobility for Oahu residents by providing an <i>alternative</i> to cars and buses – an alternative that will be </span></b><b><i><span style="color: #c0630b; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">completely unaffected by traffic.</span></i></b><b><i><span style="color: #38761d; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #38761d; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">It’s important to make that correction. Rail opponents tried for years to convince Oahu residents that if traffic will be worse after rail is built than it is now, the project would be for naught, and that’s just not true. The leader of the opposition <a href="http://yes2rail.blogspot.com/2010/07/true-confessions-rail-opponent-concedes.html">finally had to admit</a> the obvious – that traffic would be worse in the future if rail weren’t built.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #38761d; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">So to paraphrase Mr. Mysak’s “pretty good bet,” Honolulu’s future will include a way for residents and commuters to move through Oahu’s southern corridor traffic-free. <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #38761d; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">That’s a goal worth pursuing nearly everywhere, especially on an island with no room to expand the highway network.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<br />Doug Carlsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10191683240304122047noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7937602330391830242.post-55836283746001507442020-02-16T16:05:00.001-10:002020-02-18T05:54:03.418-10:00Rail’s Messaging Has Changed? So Says a Star-Advertiser Columnist, but Nothing’s Changed about Rail’s Promise – Traffic-Free Commuting for Those Who Ride It<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
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<span style="color: #b45f06;"><i> Honolulu's elevated trains will be true to a timetable.</i></span><br />
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<span style="color: #38761d;">Lee Cataluna’s column in Sunday's Star-Advertiser asserted that the Honolulu elevated rail project recently has changed its messaging. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #38761d;">Maybe yes, maybe no. I personally couldn’t quite zero in on what she meant, but I do know what <i>hasn’t </i>changed:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #b45f06;"><b>Rail will provide traffic-free commuting to each and every person who chooses to ride it.</b></span><span style="color: #38761d;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #38761d;">That’s it. That’s the unchanging promise of rail. Quibble about some messages if you want, but when this project is up and running (sooner than later, we hope), rail will be the sought-after alternative to being stuck in traffic.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #38761d;">Does anyone seriously doubt traffic-free commuting will appeal to south-side commuters? Do media pundits truly believe trains running between Kapolei and downtown during peak commute times won't be full?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #38761d; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">The long wait for the rail project has pushed some observers to go all cynical, all the time (newspaper columnists require no time at all to get there). The delays and cost increases have been <span style="caret-color: rgb(56, 118, 29);">frustrating</span>, but in the end, scores of thousands of daily commuters will praise the decision to build rail, and here’s why:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #b45f06;"><b><i>Grade-separated transit is the only form of transportation that guarantees a time of arrival at your destination. </i></b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #38761d;">When you board an elevated train, you’ll know exactly when you’ll step off at the station of your choice.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #38761d;">That’s rail's main message, and it has </span><i><b><span style="color: #b45f06;">never</span></b></i><span style="color: #38761d;"> changed.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
Doug Carlsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10191683240304122047noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7937602330391830242.post-18228015195823224422020-02-05T07:42:00.001-10:002020-02-05T07:57:58.235-10:00We’re Mad about Trains. Specifically, We’re Mad about ELEVATED Trains – Like the System Honolulu Is Building<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R57ZwTquraE">Click here</a> for this classic <i>Mad Men</i> episode on why trains are better than cars for commuting -- especially between West Oahu and anywhere along the line all the way to Ala Moana Center.</span><br />
<br />Doug Carlsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10191683240304122047noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7937602330391830242.post-61434643677858767262020-02-05T06:58:00.004-10:002020-02-06T06:21:52.454-10:00If It’s True Bus Ridership Is Lagging, That Means Car Traffic Is Increasing on Our Streets and Highways, and That’s Why Rail Is Being Built!<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="color: #b45f06;"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">I have to thank Facebook for its inquiry about </span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">whether I know Honolulu resident Randy Roth and for asking if I want to add him as a Facebook Friend. I hit “decline,” not because of any animus toward Professor Roth, but because I rarely add “friends” whom I don’t know reasonably well.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">But Facebook’s inquiry peaked my curiosity about what Randy is up to these days. He and I were – and still are – on opposite sides of the elevated rail project; he’s against it, and I’m for it for reasons I described over four years here at my Yes2Rail blog. </span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">When I visited his Facebook account, I wasn’t surprised to find a post that took aim at elevated rail:</span> <i>“<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">Bus ridership in Honolulu is down by roughly 1.3 million rides per month since 2012. This affects rail because HART has long assumed 60% of all rail users will reach the rail station by bus. Why hasn't HART revised its rail ridership projections to reflect the substantial and continuing decrease in bus ridership?”</span></i><o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;">Professor Roth’s comment was prompted by an October 9, 2019<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span><a href="https://www.khon2.com/top-stories/bus-ridership-plummets-putting-rail-forecast-in-limbo/?fbclid=IwAR29JJI5WhKZ9I-Kp8FM-MrG0MqShg8hAGCHq4SLrr5Zwkru39NiyAz86ds"><span style="background-color: white; text-decoration: none;">KHON2 report</span></a><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="background-color: white;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: white;">on the ridership decline. Mr. Roth asked in that story, </span><i><span style="background-color: white;">“Well, if the number of people that are riding the bus has been coming down further and further every year, doesn’t that impact rail ridership?”</span></i><o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="color: #b45f06;">In light of the ridership decline, it must be asked: How are those former bus riders now commuting to work? They’re not taking a water shuttle or a helicopter. <u><i><span style="color: red;">They’re driving</span></i></u>. It’s the only logical conclusion based on the reduced bus ridership, and by driving, those former bus riders are inevitably contributing to Honolulu’s ever-increasing traffic congestion.</span></div>
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Traffic congestion is why rail is being built in the first place, remember? First among<span class="apple-converted-space"> the project's four goals is </span>Goal #1 -- “Improve Corridor Mobility.” </div>
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<a href="http://yes2rail.blogspot.com/2011/01/rails-goals-remain-same-in-new-year.html">I wrote about Goal #1 </a>here at Yes2Rail back on January 3, 2011.</div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">The drop in bus ridership isn’t surprising, because at some point, when traffic is worse than ever and the grind along Oahu’s southern corridor is almost unbearable, bus riders say to themselves, </span><i><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“If I have to sit in this traffic for 90 minutes, two hours or more, I’d rather sit in my own car, with air conditioning, my radio, my coffee, my solitude.”</span></i><br />
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<span style="font-size: medium;"><b>Switching from Car to the Train</b></span></h4>
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<span style="color: #b45f06; font-size: 13.5pt;">Commuters have been making that choice for decades. When I reported on City Hall for the Honolulu Advertiser in 1974, Deputy Transportation Director Roy Parker called the choice Parker’s Law: Until public transit is demonstrably faster and more convenient than driving a car, most commuters will choose “my car at my time.” It’s just what Americans do.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">In 2013, researchers did an experiment that produced a remarkable result: People showed an irrational bias toward automobiles despite evidence that other modes of transportation would save them money.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><br />Check out their report<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span><a href="https://www.citylab.com/transportation/2013/02/why-people-chose-cars-even-when-metro-would-be-faster/4566/"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt; text-decoration: none;">here</span></a><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">. </span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Once it’s running, rail will be so much faster than commuting in one’s own car that “hitting the rails” will be an easy choice. The project will move commuters from Kapolei to downtown in about 40 minutes, and it won’t take long for a significant number of car drivers who commute along the line's route to switch to rail when they look up and see a train speeding past their traffic jam.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">It’s good to get my “rail juices” flowing again. I essentially shut down Yes2Rail when I moved to Sacramento in 2012 and turned my attention elsewhere. With the leadership of the Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation promising an October 10, 2020 start-up of the rail system, it might just be time to reenergize Yes2Rail. The naysayers are sure to be grabbing attention before 10/10/2020, and rail supporters would do well to balance the negativity with visions of rail's positive future. Of that, I am confident.</span></div>
Doug Carlsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10191683240304122047noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7937602330391830242.post-36365044333658041492012-08-13T10:33:00.001-10:002020-02-05T06:45:11.228-10:00On Second Thought, Maybe It's Time To Kick-Start This Blog Again. With the Elevated Rail Project Set To Be Operational on 10/10/20, There's Still Much To Be Said --- and Refuted<div style="text-align: justify;">
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<b style="color: #b45f06; font-family: arial;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: #38761d; font-style: italic;">May 4, 2019 Update: Let's get something straight here at Yes2Rail. I just read a 5/2/14 story on CivilBeat.org in which reporter Sophie Cocke wrote the following: <span style="background-color: #ffd966;">"</span></span><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #38761d; font-style: italic;"><span style="background-color: #ffd966;">Doug Carlson, who HART paid more than $536,000 for communicating on its behalf, repeatedly attacked former Hawaii Gov. Ben Cayetano on his rail blog. Cayetano was running for mayor on a platform focused on killing the rail project."</span> </span><span style="color: #6aa84f;"><i><span style="color: #38761d;">Not once did I "attack" Cayetano. I called out his inadequate so-called plans to move people efficiently along Oahu's southern corridor between Ewa and downtown. </span></i></span></span></span></b></div>
<span style="color: #b45f06; font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: "arial";"><b><span style="color: red;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #6aa84f;"><i><span style="color: #38761d;">Even the Honolulu Star-Advertiser asked in </span><a href="https://yes2rail.blogspot.com/2012/05/star-advertiser-editorial-page-finally.html" style="color: #b45f06;"><span style="color: #e69138;">its May 27, 2012 editorial</span></a><span style="color: #b45f06;">, </span><span style="background-color: yellow; color: #b45f06;">"What exactly is Cayetano's transit plan?"</span><span style="color: #b45f06;"> </span><span style="color: #38761d;">So I ask any readers to disregard the reporter's inarticulate description of my assessment of Cayetano's plan, which he spent months hiding from the public. As my column to the right of this main section notes under "This Isn't Political," finding fault with a candidate's transportation plans is not the same as "attacking" the candidate. Maybe reporters will understand that one day. </span></i></span></span></span></b></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #b45f06; font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: "arial";"><b><span style="color: red;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #6aa84f;"><span style="color: #38761d;"><i>About my fee: It was spread over five years and was appropriate for someone with my experience on rail issues, starting with Mayor Frank Fasi's failed effort to build elevated rail in the early 1990s, and continuing through the "dreary years" between the Fasi plan's death in 1992 and Mayor Mufi Hannemann's resurrection of rail in the next decade.</i></span></span></span></span></b></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #b45f06; font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: "arial";"><b><span style="color: red;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #6aa84f;"><span style="color: #38761d;"><i>Mayor Hannemann called me to his office in 2007 and asked me to join his rail team. He had followed my efforts to counter Cliff Slater's anti-rail campaign over the years as I pushed back at Slater in public as often as possible when he took his shots at rail. Here are some examples: </i></span></span></span></span></b></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #b45f06; font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: "arial";"><b><span style="color: red;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #6aa84f;"><span style="color: #38761d;"><i><span style="color: #38761d;">* "</span><a href="http://archives.starbulletin.com/98/10/06/editorial/letters.html"><span style="color: #e69138;">Trolley wouldn't solve city's transit problem</span></a><span style="color: #38761d;">," Honolulu Star-Bulletin, 10/6/98;</span></i></span></span></span></span></b></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #b45f06; font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: "arial";"><b><span style="color: red;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #6aa84f;"><span style="color: #38761d;"><i><span style="color: #38761d;">* "</span><a href="http://the.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/2003/Nov/17/op/op04aletters.html"><span style="color: #e69138;">Rail will forever be a failure for car-loving Cliff Slater</span></a><span style="color: #38761d;">," Honolulu Advertiser, 11/17/03; </span></i></span></span></span></span></b></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #b45f06; font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: "arial";"><b><span style="color: red;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #6aa84f;"><span style="color: #38761d;"><i><span style="color: #38761d;">* "</span><a href="http://the.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/2005/Aug/23/op/FP508230313.html"><span style="color: #e69138;">The only rational way to shorten commute times is to provide alternatives to driving on already over-crowded highways</span></a><span style="color: #38761d;">," Honolulu Advertiser, 10/23/05;</span></i></span></span></span></span></b></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #b45f06; font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: "arial";"><b><span style="color: red;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #6aa84f;"><span style="color: #38761d;"><i><span style="color: #38761d;">* "</span><a href="http://the.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/2006/Aug/08/op/FP608080316.html"><span style="color: #e69138;">Cliff Slater's decades-long opposition to rail is based on a calculated misinformation campaign</span></a><span style="color: #38761d;">," Honolulu Star-Bulletin, 10/8/06.</span></i></span></span></span></span></b></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #38761d; font-family: "arial"; font-size: medium;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(56, 118, 29);"><b><i>There's more of my commentary out there on the Internet -- not as much as you'll find from Cliff Slater and the troika of anti-rail columnists in the Honolulu Star-Advertiser, but posts here at Yes2Rail were fact-based, unlike what you'll find in their continuing campaign. </i></b></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #38761d; font-family: "arial"; font-size: medium;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(56, 118, 29);"><b><i>So, yes -- I earned my fee as a member of the rail project's Public Outreach Team, and I'll defend it against all comers.....as usual.</i></b></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #b45f06; font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: "arial";"><i><b><span style="color: red;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></b></i></span></span>
<span style="color: #b45f06; font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: "arial";"><i><b><span style="color: red;"><span style="font-size: medium;">November <span style="font-size: medium;">6, 2012 Update: </span></span></span></b><span style="color: red;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Pro-<span style="font-size: medium;">rail Kirk Caldwell defeated anti-railer Ben Cayetano in today's <span style="font-size: medium;">mayoral election, 53.9 to 46.1<span style="font-size: medium;"> percent. The result mirrors the August primary election's pro-rail outcome, as summarized in the headline above and in the post below. (We probably shouldn't say "told you so," but in fact, we did.) A<span style="font-size: medium;">nd if you're </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></i></span></span><span style="color: red;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: medium;">really</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><i><span style="color: red;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> curious about what we said about Mr. Cayetano's transportation ideas that were wholly dependent on anti-railer Cliff Slater's ideas, visit our <a href="http://yes2rail.blogspot.com/2012/01/one-stop-site-for-major-honolulu-rail.html"><span style="color: #38761d;"><b>aggregation site</b></span></a> and scroll down to the </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></i><span style="color: red;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #b45f06;">2012 Mayoral </span><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #b45f06;">Race and Rail</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><i><span style="color: red;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> section.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></i> <br />
<br />
<span style="color: #b45f06; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "arial";">AUGUST 2012: Barring unexpected
developments that could reverse this decision, today’s post is Yes2Rail’s last – number 804 in the series that began on June 30, 2008. So we sign off with a few
closing comments as we prepare to concentrate our energies on All
Things California.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">Some people in Honolulu
would have you believe the rail project is like a boxer who’s barely surviving
the 10<sup>th</sup> round of a 12-round championship fight. He’s behind on all
the scorecards, but still they work hard to convince the public that a knockout
punch is likely even this late in the fight – despite all the evidence.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">The Honolulu Elevated Rail
Project is farther down the track than any other proposal to create a
traffic-free commuting alternative in Our Honolulu’s congestion-choked southern
corridor. The project's Full Funding Grant Agreement application is in Washington and is likely to be approved in the next few months, something the late Frank F. Fasi, who was elected Honolulu's mayor six times, never came close to achieving despite multiple attempts to build rail.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>His final plan died in the City Council 20 years ago this Fall.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">So how did rail succeed this time around? <i>Oh, I dunno…..maybe because it
benefited from an excellent public information campaign!</i> That’s one conclusion
someone could make (we just did), since <b style="color: #b45f06;">rail</b></span><span style="color: #b45f06; font-family: "arial";">
<b>has been consistently supported by Oahu residents several
years running, including only two days ago.</b></span><span style="font-family: "arial";"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">In 2008, the pro-rail
candidates won and anti-railers lost. <a href="http://yes2rail.blogspot.com/2008/08/second-poll-shows-strong-support-for.html">A scientific poll released four years ago this month</a> found 58 percent of those surveyed supporting rail, while only 38
percent said they were opposed. Remember the City Charter amendment that year
directing the City’s transportation division to pursue a steel-on-steel system?
It passed.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">One year later, <a href="http://yes2rail.blogspot.com/2009/11/behind-rail-opinion-poll-numbers-solid.html">a poll reported 60 percent support</a> for the project among those who were scientifically
surveyed – 34 percent strongly supportive and 26 percent somewhat supportive.
Of the 37 percent who said they were opposed, 21 percent were strongly against
the project, and 16 percent were somewhat opposed.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">In 2010, pro-rail candidates
won, anti-rail candidates lost. Voters overwhelmingly approved a City Charter
amendment to create the Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation, thereby
creating an entity to build and operate Honolulu rail. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">A few months later in May
2011, <a href="http://yes2rail.blogspot.com/2011/06/opinion-survey-finds-57-support-rail.html">another scientific survey</a> found support for rail at 57 percent, with 40
percent opposed. That poll was publicized in the same month the Gang of Four –
Cliff Slater, Ben Cayetano, Randy Roth and Walter Heen – filed a federal
lawsuit to kill the rail project.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">One year ago next Sunday,
<a href="http://yes2rail.blogspot.com/2011/08/lawsuit-backers-switch-tactics-blast.html">the Gang launched its massive public relations campaign</a> against rail with a
1500-word commentary in the newspaper. Online <i>Civil Beat</i></span><span style="font-family: "arial";"> fact-checked the piece and <a href="http://yes2rail.blogspot.com/2011/09/final-civil-beat-fact-check-is-half.html">found numerous false statements</a>. <i>Civil Beat</i> judged only two to be <span style="background-color: #38761d; color: white;"> TRUE </span>, two <span style="background-color: red; color: white;"> FALSE </span> and three <span style="background-color: #ea9999; color: white;">
HALF-TRUE/HALF-FALSE </span>.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">The Gang’s PR campaign has
been barreling along virtually nonstop since last August and hit its peak with the launch of former Governor Cayetano’s campaign for mayor in
January, with near-constant media coverage of his anti-rail rhetoric. <a href="http://yes2rail.blogspot.com/2012/01/does-mayoral-candidate-understand-rail.html">Yes2Rail concluded</a> he really didn't understand rail very well. He's essentially a
one-issue candidate, as the media continually remind
us.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";"><b style="color: #b45f06;"><span style="font-size: large;">So How's Rail Doing Now?</span></b><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"><b style="color: #b45f06;"><span style="font-size: large;"></span></b> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">In spite of all this
negativity about the rail, the project is doing just fine, thank you very much,
and the evidence of rail’s continuing support among the public is only two days
old. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "arial";"><b>Saturday’s Primary
Election supplied that evidence.</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "arial";"><b>Pro-Rail Candidates: 54.6 percent</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #b45f06; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "arial";"><b>Anti-Rail Candidate: 44.7 percent</b></span></span><span style="font-family: "arial";"></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFikT9xlJFQVQg5_C4PoaOpgOXoEZ0srSG_WdG00KhvigcJO4k9uvzvm5vu57Jd2rgqfva7WgSlry3Zd39iPL8KArxPBgz2oZ6q5a1Kv5gw2pBJFYhs5RMLI7LpEzDZ1_HLlNbW3QrY_c/s1600/Screen+shot+2012-08-13+at+3.21.20+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="198" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFikT9xlJFQVQg5_C4PoaOpgOXoEZ0srSG_WdG00KhvigcJO4k9uvzvm5vu57Jd2rgqfva7WgSlry3Zd39iPL8KArxPBgz2oZ6q5a1Kv5gw2pBJFYhs5RMLI7LpEzDZ1_HLlNbW3QrY_c/s200/Screen+shot+2012-08-13+at+3.21.20+PM.png" width="200" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial";">After all of the criticism,
all the negativity, all the accusations and misrepresentations in the anti-rail
camp’s massive multi-media PR campaign (see our “<a href="http://yes2rail.blogspot.com/2012/01/one-stop-site-for-major-honolulu-rail.html">aggregation site</a>” and the <b><span style="color: #b45f06;">Mr.
Cliff Slater and Friends</span> </b></span><span style="font-family: "arial";">heading),
the opponents have failed to move the needle! The rail project’s support among
Oahu voters two days ago was a solid majority!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">Candidates have come and
gone, some won and some lost, but consistent throughout the years has been the rail project's
public involvement campaign that week after week, month after month
supplied residents with truthful information that helped them understand and
appreciate the project.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">But as they say, no good
deed goes unpunished, and the rail project’s public involvement team was "whacked" this summer, to use <i>Civil Beat's</i> word for the budget-trimming. Those of us whose involvement with rail ends this
month leave knowing the mission was
accomplished.</span></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "arial";">What About the Polls?</span></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">The public opinion surveys
published by the <i>Star-Advertiser/Hawaii News Now</i></span><span style="font-family: "arial";"> and <i>Civil Beat</i></span><span style="font-family: "arial";"> in recent weeks deserve a second look. The newspaper/TV poll published
on July 29 called it almost exactly right for Mr. Cayetano – 44
percent support in the Primary. The survey underestimated Mr.
Caldwell’s support by nearly 5 percentage points and overestimated Mr.
Carlisle’s backing by 2 points.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";"><i>Civil Beat’s</i></span><span style="font-family: "arial";"> most recent survey (<a href="http://www.civilbeat.com/articles/2012/08/07/16731-civil-beat-poll-cayetano-on-track-to-win-in-primary-and-avoid-runoff/">its story was updated only last Wednesday</a>) had Mr. Cayetano at 51 percent, thereby badly missing the election’s
outcome. That poll was conducted among “very likely Oahu voters” only, a
methodology <i>CB </i></span><span style="font-family: "arial";">has used
repeatedly in 2012 that Yes2Rail believes is seriously flawed. UH professor
<a href="http://yes2rail.blogspot.com/2012/08/our-criticism-of-likely-voter-only.html">Neal Milner said we had a point</a>.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">Governments do not
differentiate between voters and non-voters in their planning processes. With
non-voters having lower incomes and less education than voters, they’re more
likely to rely on public transit than citizens who vote. Opinion surveys on
rail that ignore the non-voters’ views can’t possibly reflect the community’s
true support and appreciation of the rail project.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">Whatever the reasons for <i>Civil
Beat’s </i></span><span style="font-family: "arial";">big miss in its most recent
survey, getting rid of voter-only polling can only help.</span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: large;">And Finally....</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">Yes2Rail has criticized the Honolulu news media over the past several months for their hands-off approach to covering
Governor Cayetano’s bus rapid transit alternative to elevated Honolulu rail.
After weeks of Yes2Rail posts calling on Mr. Cayetano to release details of
his “plan,” the <i>Star-Advertiser </i></span><span style="font-family: "arial";">finally pressed the point <a href="http://yes2rail.blogspot.com/2012/05/star-advertiser-editorial-page-finally.html">in a late-May editorial</a>.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">However, in the end, we’re
not so sure the media’s poor performance really mattered. The August 2012
Primary Election's results showed that rail continues to receive majority
support among Oahu residents. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">Despite the media's laid-back
reporting and the opponents’ anti-rail rhetoric, residents managed to sort and
sift through the information available to them from multiple sources, including
the rail project itself, and gave the pro-rail candidates more votes than
the would-be rail killer.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">That's a good note for rail's public involvement team to leave on.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "arial";"><span style="color: red;"><i><b>AUGUST 16th UPDATE: Letter to Honolulu </b></i><i><b>Star-Advertiser:</b></i></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial";"><span style="color: red;"><b><span style="color: black;">Headline missed real vote winner</span></b></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial";"><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: black;">Shouldn't this have been the banner headline in Sunday's Star-Advertiser: "</span><b><span style="color: black;">Pro-rail candidates win primary, 55 to 44 percent</span></b><span style="color: black;">"?</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial";"><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: black;">Jerome M. Comcowich</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial";"><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: black;">Kailua </span><b><span style="color: black;"> </span></b><i><b> </b></i></span> </span></div>
Doug Carlsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10191683240304122047noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7937602330391830242.post-58254249413242110542012-08-09T08:11:00.001-10:002020-01-22T07:47:35.248-10:00Civil Beat Follows Yes2Rail’s Lead, Fact-Checks Cayetano Radio Spot and Finds It Only ‘Half True’ – but the Analysis Gets Just as Bogged Down in Statistics as the Candidate’s Anti-Rail Campaign and Misses 4 Big Points<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNZZ3Nds-eqMZRyO5bYbrpXvLwVwEcv4G6YxfcUW-S1GO9ec4WCKn27dFmBKRxtaukbmCdmJGs-ILKZHqKKJhzOHMd-WSWJLpXdytEnOljP4LGGh5lmdIHlDivMCmaJO4OCb4_s5S6axc/s1600/Screen+shot+2012-08-09+at+12.14.34+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="131" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNZZ3Nds-eqMZRyO5bYbrpXvLwVwEcv4G6YxfcUW-S1GO9ec4WCKn27dFmBKRxtaukbmCdmJGs-ILKZHqKKJhzOHMd-WSWJLpXdytEnOljP4LGGh5lmdIHlDivMCmaJO4OCb4_s5S6axc/s400/Screen+shot+2012-08-09+at+12.14.34+PM.png" width="400" /></a></div>
<div style="color: #b45f06; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: "arial";">It took <i>Civil Beat</i></span><span style="font-family: "arial";"> two weeks to do what Yes2Rail did <a href="http://yes2rail.blogspot.com/2012/07/latest-spot-from-anti-rail-candidate.html">on July 26<sup>th</sup></a>
when we concluded a Ben Cayetano radio spot is “flat-out wrong” in suggesting
drivers won’t benefit once Honolulu’s rail system is in operation.</span></span></div>
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<a href="http://www.blogger.com/goog_264800659"><span style="font-family: "arial";"><i>Civil Beat’s</i></span></a><span style="font-family: "arial";"><a href="http://www.civilbeat.com/fact_checks/2012/08/09/16625-fact-check-cayetano-2-in-100-will-ride-rail-half-will-be-bus-riders/"> analysis</a> seems to be precisely correct in finding
fault with the spot based on various tables and data within them in rail’s
Final Environmental Impact Statement. Well and good, but can we please get our
noses out of the FEIS and step back to appreciate the bigger picture?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">Here’s are four points we
think <i>Civil Beat</i></span><span style="font-family: "arial";"> missed in an
analysis that must warm the hearts of every stat fanatic and accountant:</span></div>
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</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #b45f06;">
<b><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "arial";">Point One</span></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial";">Does anybody really believe
Ben Cayetano is driving this bus? In finding the Cayetano radio spot only <span style="background-color: #b6d7a8;"> </span><i style="background-color: #b6d7a8;"><span style="color: white;">HALF
TRUE</span> </i><b>, </b></span><span style="font-family: "arial";"><i>Civil Beat</i></span><span style="font-family: "arial";"> merely confirms what we’ve been harping on here at
Yes2Rail for years: </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #b45f06;">
<b><span style="font-family: "arial";">Cliff Slater deliberately
uses misinformation and obfuscation to confuse the public into believing rail would
be a failure if congestion continues to grow long after rail is built. And now
he has Mr. Cayetano doing it, too.</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial";">Rail’s “failure” to prevent
congestion from growing as the population grows is Mr. Slater’s top talking
point, and you hear it in Mr. Cayetano’s statements, too – slipped to the
candidate behind closed doors by anti-railer-in-chief. </span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial";">The anti-rail mayoral
candidate is leaning so heavily on Cliff Slater for his campaign’s theme that
it may as well be Mr. Slater who’s running for mayor so he can kill rail
transit now and forever on Oahu.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial";">We provided links <a href="http://yes2rail.blogspot.com/2012/08/the-countdown-has-begun-see-above-so.html">two days ago in Yes2Rail's post</a> to several earlier posts about Mr. Slater’s obfuscation
campaign. You’re invited to click on them, read them and then reflect on
whether the current campaign against rail is what citizens have a right to
expect from their leaders.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #b45f06;">
<b><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "arial";">Point Two</span></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial";">Can we settle for anything
less than the whole truth from people who want to run this city? We’ve made
this point before, too, and our summary of <i>Civil Beat’s</i></span><span style="font-family: "arial";"> Fact Checks on the <a href="http://yes2rail.blogspot.com/2011/08/lawsuit-backers-switch-tactics-blast.html">Gang of Four’s August 2011 commentary</a> is worth a repeat visit.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial";">Of the seven issues <i>Civil
Beat</i></span><span style="font-family: "arial";"> checked, it found only two that
were<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> <span style="background-color: lime; color: white;"> </span></span><i style="background-color: lime; color: white;">TRUE</i></span><span style="background-color: lime; color: white; font-family: "arial";"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "arial";"><i><span style="background-color: lime; color: white;"> </span>, </i></span><span style="font-family: "arial";">two that were<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> completely <span style="background-color: red; color: white;"> </span></span><i><span style="background-color: red; color: white;">FALSE </span>,</i></span><span style="font-family: "arial";"> and three that were<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> <span style="background-color: #b6d7a8; color: white;"> </span></span><i><span style="background-color: #b6d7a8; color: white;">HALF
TRUE </span>,</i></span><span style="font-family: "arial";"> which means they also
were<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> <span style="background-color: #e06666; color: white;"> </span></span><i><span style="background-color: #e06666; color: white;">HALF FALSE </span>.</i></span><span style="font-family: "arial";"></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial";">That’s a terrible record for
a quartet made up of three attorneys – including a former governor, a current
law school professor and a former judge – and Mr. Slater. By relying on a
self-proclaimed 'transit expert' for their material, the three lawyers are
willing passengers on Mr. Slater’s bus – <b style="color: red;"><i>The Obfuscation Express</i></b></span><span style="font-family: "arial";">.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #b45f06;">
<b><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "arial";">Point Three</span></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial";">The radio spot avoids any
reference to the benefit rail will provide for the people who need it most –
west Oahu residents who travel to and from town through the east-west urban
corridor. It lumps all drivers into the same category – people from East
Honolulu, the Windward Side, the North Shore, everywhere – and suggests rail will
be a failure if <b><i>they</i></b></span><span style="font-family: "arial";"> don’t
plan to ride the train.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial";">Rail isn’t being built for
everyone! Oahu’s #1 congestion problem is precisely where the rail line will
serve communities and residents in that corridor. The radio spot’s intellectual
dishonesty is undoubtedly obvious to my fifth-grade granddaughter and her
friends!</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #b45f06;">
<b><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "arial";">Point Four</span></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial";">As we noted two weeks ago, commuters
who continue to drive their own cars will enjoy less congestion after rail is
built than if we did nothing at all. That’s a close paraphrase of <a href="http://yes2rail.blogspot.com/2010/07/true-confessions-rail-opponent-concedes.html">Mr. Slater’s admission before the City Council in July 2010</a> when he conceded that rail will
have the positive benefit of slowing congestion’s inevitable growth.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial";">The project believes
island-wide congestion as measured in vehicle hours of delay will be reduced by
18 percent in 2030 with rail in operation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The anti-rail radio spot is flat-out wrong.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #b45f06;">
<b><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "arial";">Bottom Line</span></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial";">We’re not finding fault with
<i>Civil Beat’s</i></span><span style="font-family: "arial";"> analysis of the
spot. It did a good job as far as it went. But there’s so much left
unsaid in most media coverage of the rail debate, including this Fact Check, that Yes2Rail has had no
trouble feasting on what's been left out over the past four years.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial";">The Cayetano campaign's recent radio
spot is more of the same – easy pickings actually.</span></div>
Doug Carlsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10191683240304122047noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7937602330391830242.post-24174083606533744762012-08-08T04:18:00.000-10:002013-10-18T06:38:16.941-10:00Checking Out More Yes2Rail Posts in the Rear-View Mirror: Some People (Who Should Know Better) Still Express Enthusiasm for At-Grade Rail, so Let’s Review another Rail-Related Big Issue – COLLISIONS<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWI9qdLVApOUJvt2yQAaAmwfk_izDZXqBnIn1nGh5NUQjHCUVGw3AyTRiJi7umpcPmUNDBWMWpi4l-7QffLbR-fuJap6uDECZ50iQBuJkuK-t13EhQaHnfHpbHlvCaGCNwzYY-kAKaZTI/s1600/At-grade+crash+screen+shot.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="218" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWI9qdLVApOUJvt2yQAaAmwfk_izDZXqBnIn1nGh5NUQjHCUVGw3AyTRiJi7umpcPmUNDBWMWpi4l-7QffLbR-fuJap6uDECZ50iQBuJkuK-t13EhQaHnfHpbHlvCaGCNwzYY-kAKaZTI/s400/At-grade+crash+screen+shot.png" width="400" /></a></div>
<div style="color: #b45f06; text-align: justify;">
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"> <span style="font-size: small;"><i>Honolulu could expect crashes like this if rail were built at ground level.</i></span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">If you’ve read it here once,
you’ve seen it dozens of times: Only grade-separated transit can provide fast,
frequent, reliable and <b><i>safe</i></b> travel through the city – each time you ride.</span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Elevated rail will be faster
that any surface-based transportation system, no matter what
anti-railer-in-chief Cliff Slater says. Rail will be more frequent – arriving
every 3 minutes during rush hour – and it’ll be more reliable by never ever
being involved in crashes with other vehicles at intersections. The <b><i>are</i></b></span><span style="font-family: Arial;"><b> </b></span><span style="font-family: Arial;">no
intersections when the line is elevated above traffic.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">And that’s where we’re
landing today – smack dab on the Safety issue. It’s no surprise people who
oppose Honolulu rail avoid talking about the safety issue at all costs. They
just don’t have an answer for it.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">We’ve tried calling them out
on the safety issue, and we banged away pretty hard in 2010 around the time
Governor Linda Lingle held her “public hearing” on rail in the State Capitol.
It was a staged event to highlight her opposition to rail and support for an
at-grade rail version supported by some in Honolulu’s architect community. </span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><a href="http://yes2rail.blogspot.com/2010/01/at-grades-drawbacks-cant-be-airbrushed.html">Our headline on January 15</a> declared <b>At-Grade’s Drawbacks Can’t Be Airbrushed Away</b></span><span style="font-family: Arial;">. The post’s eight bullet points detailed the obvious
drawbacks of running light-rail trains on Hotel Street through
Honolulu’s downtown section, including super-crowded Chinatown. It’s impossible
for anyone except the most ardent at-grade supporters to imagine such a scheme.
Look at the photographs in that post and come to your own conclusion.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Two days later <a href="http://yes2rail.blogspot.com/2010/01/3-crosswalk-pedestrian-deaths-already.html">our post was headlined</a> <b>3 ‘Crosswalk Pedestrian’ Deaths Already in 2010; AIA Still Pushes
for At-Grade Train in Chinatown.</b></span><span style="font-family: Arial;"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">The January 19, 2010 hearing
captured Yes2Rail’s attention <a href="http://yes2rail.blogspot.com/2010/01/aia-capitol-hearing-skirts-at-grade.html">under the headline</a> <b>AIA Capitol Hearing Skirts
At-Grade Safety Issue; Chapter’s Vision Won’t Do What Honolulu Needs.</b></span><span style="font-family: Arial;"> <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Safety
had become the biggest argument against at-grade rail, so we kept at it then
and later:</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">• <a href="http://yes2rail.blogspot.com/2010/01/honolulu-has-usas-2nd-worst-traffic.html">January 20</a>: <b>Honolulu
Has US’s 2<sup>nd</sup> Worst Traffic Bottleneck, Yet the AIA Still Wants To
Build At-Grade Trolley</b></span><span style="font-family: Arial;"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">• <a href="http://yes2rail.blogspot.com/2010/01/national-transit-leader-calls-honolulu.html">January 21</a>: <b>National
Transit Leader Calls Honolulu Rail Plan ‘Gold Standard’ of Transit, Says
Elevated Rail Is Safer, More Reliable and More Attractive To Ride</b></span><span style="font-family: Arial;"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">• <a href="http://yes2rail.blogspot.com/2010/01/editorial-elevated-rail-best-deal-for.html">January 24</a>: <b>Editorial:
Elevated Rail Best Deal for Taxpayers; Also Commuters, Drivers and Property
Owners</b></span><span style="font-family: Arial;"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">• <a href="http://yes2rail.blogspot.com/2010/01/3-more-at-grade-rail-myths-debunked.html">January 29</a>: <b>3 More
At-Grade Rail Myths Debunked, Plus AIA Internal Poll Shows Low At-Grade Rail
Support</b></span><span style="font-family: Arial;"></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">The January 29 post deserves
some extra attention because it reported on details of the AIA chapter’s
internal poll among its members on the rail issue. We wrote:</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #b45f06;">
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><i>“The results are
remarkable in light of the chapter’s impassioned advocacy of at-grade rail.
Using the figures in the poll summary reveals only 5.3% of the chapter’s
membership responded in favor of at-grade rail. Larger percentages favored
elevated rail (6.3%) and below-grade rail (8.4%). </i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #b45f06;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #b45f06; font-family: Arial;"><i>“Another way to parse
these numbers is that nearly three times as many respondents favored
grade-separated rail (96) compared to at-grade (35). So how can the AIA Rail
Task Force members go before the community with a straight face and say
at-grade rail is such a favorite among local architects?”</i></span><span style="font-family: Arial;"></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">As we noted in that post,
only 24.3% of the respondents supported at-grade rail, 38.2% said rail should
be built below ground, 28.5% said elevated was best and the rest didn’t care or
failed to give a response. We summarized: <b style="color: #b45f06;"><i>“75.7% of the respondents chose
not to select at-grade rail – a remarkable outcome in light of the chapter’s
campaign in favor of that option.”</i></b></span><span style="font-family: Arial;"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><a href="http://yes2rail.blogspot.com/2010/04/lingle-still-supports-at-grade-rail.html">Yes2Rail’s post on April 2, 2010</a> was headlined <b>Lingle Still Supports At-Grade Rail Despite Flaws;
Doesn’t Fast, Frequent, Reliable & Safe Matter?</b></span><span style="font-family: Arial;"> As she demonstrated over the final months of her
term by withholding approval of the Final Environmental Impact Statement,
Governor Lingle didn’t think Honolulu’s rail project mattered at all.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #b45f06;">
<b><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Consider the Crashes</span></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">The photographs in
Yes2Rail’s right-hand column don’t lie. They’re the images of what happens when
at-grade rail transit is inserted into a city – any city. It’s never a good
idea when trains, cars, buses, trucks and pedestrians try to occupy the same
space.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Even the newest rail systems
with tons of lessons learned from other rail-equipped cities around the country
can run into trouble. One year ago, Norfolk, VA launched The Tide, its
relatively short at-grade rail system, and recorded its first accident – before
the system officially began service! </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><a href="http://yes2rail.blogspot.com/2011/08/yet-to-open-norfolks-train-has-1st-car.html">Our August 12 post</a> was
headlined <b>Yet To Open, Norfolk’s Train Has First Car Crash. </b></span><span style="font-family: Arial;">Check out also <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TBZbaVmwo-M">this TV station report</a> following that
accident that examined all the bells and whistles the at-grade system uses to
alert motorists and pedestrians that a train is approaching. Listen to those horns and be thankful Honolulu's system will be elevated, with no need for warning sounds!</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">But that was just the
beginning. A second collision was recorded a few days later during the
“practice” sessions with the new system. WAVY-TV carried two video reports on that collision, <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TBZbaVmwo-M">here</a> and <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QJ46KZB84-U">here</a>.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Sacramento’s system was the
subject of our <b>Jogging & Keeping Pace with an At-Grade Train </b></span><span style="font-family: Arial;"><a href="http://yes2rail.blogspot.com/2009/09/jogging-keeping-pace-with-at-grade.html">post on September 19, 2009</a> that focused on the
system’s relatively slow speed compared to Honolulu’s future elevated
system.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">California’s capital city
has had its share of crashes, too. <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iINZIP8p-4s">KCRA-TV carried this breaking-news report</a> on
March 29 this year on a two-car, one-train crash near downtown Sacramento. Tragically, three died at a Sacramento Light Rail road crossing <a href="http://yes2rail.blogspot.com/2012/01/at-grade-tragedy-3-die-in-sacramento.html">early this year</a>.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Houston, TX? See this
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CV2rdGX4JYc">compilation of crashes</a> called <b>Metro’s Greatest Hits</b></span><span style="font-family: Arial;"> involving the city’s Metro Rail system that runs on
city streets.</span></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXwdxaPr8k3Lrg6D0LlCv4CDq59Wegjq1J4dZ6EBY23VHMIGzXNJ0qVILE4SmRehRvva6ANLVj32LYU8JiQfpw4EvUu1y09SUNHRe-DysZ7t_8EbvoX5iJaR05COOwfYsSuL0yFvBeCMo/s1600/SLC+TRAX+TV+chart.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="124" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXwdxaPr8k3Lrg6D0LlCv4CDq59Wegjq1J4dZ6EBY23VHMIGzXNJ0qVILE4SmRehRvva6ANLVj32LYU8JiQfpw4EvUu1y09SUNHRe-DysZ7t_8EbvoX5iJaR05COOwfYsSuL0yFvBeCMo/s200/SLC+TRAX+TV+chart.png" width="200" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Salt Lake City, UT? <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=usNYIHUYrCI">Check out this</a> report on a teenager's death and other videos depicting the TRAX system’s numerous crashes and
fatalities – at least 7 deaths over a four-year period. The chart at right was
included in <a href="http://www.ksl.com/?nid=960&sid=17953866">a TV station’s report</a> that compared the city’s operational record
with other at-grade rail systems in the western region of the country.</span></div>
</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Phoenix, AZ? <a href="http://yes2rail.blogspot.com/2009/12/train-meets-van-in-another-at-grade.html">Our December 2, 2009 post</a> – <b>Train Meets Van in Another At-Grade Rail Collision – </b></span><span style="font-family: Arial;">reported on the growing number of crashes involving
the city’s new 20-mile system that recorded <a href="http://yes2rail.blogspot.com/2009/12/phoenix-at-grade-rail-accidents-invite.html">52 accidents in its first year of operation</a>.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #b45f06;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><b>And <i>still </i>some prominent people
in Honolulu</b></span><span style="font-family: Arial;"><b> believe
at-grade rail would be a good idea for our city. Will they be asked to defend that preference in light of at-grade's poor safety record compared to elevated rail? Is preserving a view plane worth a single life, let alone many? Don't elevated rail's fast, frequent, reliable and safe attributes matter? Of course they matter. Maybe you'll have a chance to ask those prominent people in the weeks ahead if their transit preferences compare favorably with Honolulu's future elevated rail system that literally above all will be safe.</b></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
Doug Carlsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10191683240304122047noreply@blogger.com5