Gov. David Ige may have state deputy sheriffs chauffeuring him around now, but for decades he joined the morning and evening slog on H-1 into town from Pearl City.
Traffic pain the governor knows, so when Mayor Kirk Caldwell and Council Chairman Ernie Martin say stop rail before it hits downtown because the city ran out of money, Ige disagrees.
“We need to come up with a plan we can afford, but the plan needs to be the full 20 miles; we need to run the route,” Ige said in an interview Monday.
Ige, like other state officials, doesn’t like the Caldwell-Martin solution of just postponing rail, essentially building half the system and then start scratching around for more money.
Last week, House Speaker Joe Souki complained that he voted for an entire rail system in 2005, not this truncated plan.
“I didn’t envision this stopping at Middle Street, I didn’t even envision it stopping at Ala Moana,” Souki said in an interview. “I saw a system going to Waikiki and the UH; that’s what I voted for.”
Ige was careful to note that in his mind rail is a city issue, not a state responsibility — but the governor did have some ideas to fix the system that is $1.5 billion over budget.
First, he said, planners should prioritize the unbuilt rail stations — decide what stations, estimated to cost around a $100 million each, could be dropped from the route to save money.
Then the city needs to get the private sector, which will benefit from the rail stations, to put some private money into the game. The big economic interests in Kakaako and Ala Moana Center should also be paying for rail.
“I don’t understand why there is not any private participation in the stations,” said Ige.
“Every single transit system I have used across the country has private participation in the stations. We have zero dollars in private participation.”
Finally, Ige said, the city should rethink its financing model. Although there is some discussion of tapping city bond financing, almost the entire $8.1 billion project is being paid for with cash — and Ige said the debt could be restructured. Also, he said, those along the route could contribute to paying for the train going by their property.
What disturbs the governor is that the rail plan was conceived as a way to get people living in West Oahu to downtown and the urban core, not to stop in Kalihi and turn them over to some sort of bus system.
“You have to commit to the full route,” Ige repeatedly said. “The whole system looks at transportation on this island, in this county.”
As much as the rail line needs to be considered an entire transportation plan, Ige added that it also should be considered the responsibility of the City and County of Honolulu.
Asked if he would submit legislation to next year’s Legislature to help fund the rail line, Ige said “No.”
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Richard Borreca writes on politics on Sundays, Tuesdays and Fridays. Reach him at rborreca@staradvertiser.com.
