To the residents of Honolulu in the year 2039: Twenty-five years from the day I write this letter, I am optimistic that you, the citizens of Honolulu, will be living in one of the world’s great cities, a city that thrives, because of the strong infrastructure that supports it. History has shown that ancient cities such as Rome and Edo that were built around excellent roads and waterways, develop into prosperous centers of trade, art and culture.
As mayor in the year 2014, I am focusing on providing reliable infrastructure that will serve the people of Honolulu for the next 50 to 100 years, and a major component of that infrastructure is the rail project.
I ran for mayor as the candidate who supports rail, and now, in office, I consider it one of my administration’s highest priorities. Honolulu’s traffic today is considered the second-worst in the country, and on an island, building more roads is not a sustainable solution. Without a high-capacity, mass transit system, I am positive that gridlock will strangle our economic growth and our quality of life.
Our residents, especially those who live on the west side of Oahu, spend hours a day driving their cars in traffic. As a result, tempers are short, family time is scarce to non-existent, and people lack sleep and the time to prepare and eat healthy meals. I hope that the use of rail and other transit options have returned quality of life back to you and your families.
As you might expect, building anything of this magnitude comes with significant challenges. At $5.2 billion, rail is the largest, most expensive public works project in Hawaii’s history to date, and it is being funded through two main sources, $1.55 billion in federal transportation funds, and the rest through a one-half percent surcharge collected through the state’s general excise tax on business transactions on Oahu only. If it weren’t for the unwavering support of our congressional delegation, spearheaded by the late U.S. Sen. Daniel K. Inouye, we would not be building rail today.
In addition, the rail project faced legal challenges that delayed the start of construction and added to the overall cost. These legal questions have been addressed and resolved. I believe that one of the positive outcomes is that we now have a clearer understanding of the process to address archeological findings in the context of major construction, and I hope that you in the future will continue to always work with cultural experts to ensure a right and respectful handling of the discovery of ancient burials and artifacts.
In 2014 Honolulu has been a car-centric culture for far too long, and I’m excited that this is changing. Once the 20-mile rail line from East Kapolei to Ala Moana Center is complete, Honolulu will start to see a transformation on how we travel within the city. Rail presents us with an opportunity to develop new kinds of communities along its route, where multi-generational families can live, work, shop and play, without needing a car.
Long before 2039, Honolulu should have an integrated transportation system that includes transit options, including bikeshare, carshare, bike and pedestrian friendly streets, and a seamless transition between bus and rail depending on your desired destination.
To support this development, the city is adopting a neighborhood plan around each station, and amending the zoning code to implement the recommendations of these plans.
The rail is also bringing new connectivity to Honolulu in several ways. One is through the incorporation of high-speed fiber into the guideway construction, ensuring reliable, high-capacity broadband around each transit station. The other is connectivity between businesses, shopping areas and educational institutions. Businesses along the rail route will see their client and customer bases unbounded by geographical or parking issues.
I can’t think of another subject in Honolulu that has generated more controversy, more debate and more division over a span of decades than the rail project. But now we have begun, and I am confident that we are doing what’s responsible by putting our resources toward rail. If we have enabled future generations in Honolulu to prosper because they have the infrastructure to support their ambitions and their dreams, it will have all been worth it.
