Rail all about money, not transportation
I think everyone should stop crying about the rail project. Admit it, folks, it’s going exactly as planned.
Rail was forced through from the beginning for money, and lots of people were part of the lie. Developers, unions, people wanting construction jobs, Kirk Caldwell, Nestor Garcia and others who’d sell off once-beautiful Oahu for personal gain. And the people of Oahu cooperated in the lying.
Everyone knew if they could just get the camel’s nose under the tent, there’d be no stopping it. The keg’s now tapped. The money is flowing to the “right” pockets. Everyone should be happy. It’s going according to plan.
Money has become our ultimate ideology, replacing all constitutional, moral and aesthetic values. Congratulations.
Mathew Johnson
Kaimuki
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Let gambling cover rail project shortfall
The rail transit system is in dire need of a financial lift.
There’s a simple answer that other states has implemented that have helped pay for road repairs, educational needs (air conditioning in classrooms) and assistance to local hospitals, while not forcing us to support a fuel tax, mileage tax or any other tax that politicians come up with whenever there’s a shortfall.
A lottery: What else can I say?
Another option is to open a casino on Kahoolawe once Uncle Sam cleans up its mess.
Native Americans have casinos that make big bucks, so how about it?
Stan Batalona
Aiea
Ho‘opili will increase congestion from cars
Most of the time the commute from Kapolei to downtown is 1.5 hours one way, sometimes more in the morning.
After several days of stop-and-go to the point of getting carsick, I decided to get on the C-Express bus from the Kapolei Transit Center. The bus was full to da max. A kind man gave me a seat, but alas, the guy sitting next to me was unkempt, smelly and constantly clearing his throat. What to do? Sit and suffer, or stand up for the next hour or so all the way to downtown, packed like a can of sardines?
I tried another day, but again, the guy sitting next to me was another smelly and upkempt person. So I decided to go back to commuting through the stop-and-go traffic at 2 to 3 miles per hour.
And we will be having another 12,000 homes built (“Blessing celebrates realization of Ho‘opili housing development,” Star-Advertiser, Sept. 9)?
Absurd.
Rosita R. Sipirok-Siregar
Kapolei
Trump lacks empathy, not fit for presidency
Donald Trump should never be president. It’s bad enough he has such a cavalier attitude toward nuclear weapons, refuses to release his tax returns, uses donor money from his “charity” to pay for his legal problems and to persuade two attorneys general to not pursue fraud charges against him, was sued twice by the government for not renting to African- Americans, and would not immediately disavow David Duke and the Ku Klux Klan. I could go on and on.
But the one thing that bothers me most is that he mocked a man with a disability. This shows the true character of the man. He has no moral compass. Anyone who would make fun of a person with a handicap or disability shows a complete lack of empathy and does not belong in the White House.
Sheila Nakamura
Pahoa
50 responses to “Rail all about money, not transportation”
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Rosita – “Even under a best case (sic) scenario, which includes an optimistic rail transit operation, the H-1 freeway would operate at LOS E with the Hoopili project.” That’s a quote from former DOT director Brennon Morioka in August 2009. LOS = level of service, and “E” is just one step above gridlock.
How many more busses could be on the roads, in dedicated lanes during rush hours, if we use the 5.5 $billion we can save by sitting down rail (this doesn’t include money saved for operations and maintenence)?
“… 5.5 $billion we can save by SHUTTING down rail…”
The original purpose for the rail was to provide Mass transit for the West and Central Oahu for less than $3 Billion as proposed by Mufi.
Mass transit from Central and West Oahu UH Manoa, Kaneohe, Waikiki and beyond is feasible for under $4 Billion. Don’t need the Feds $1.55 Billion nor their ultimatum to build to Ala Moana Center. Besides, the FTA should confirm their position on Rail by coming to Hawaii and inform the Governor, legislature, Mayor, City council and the people in person before we take the word of those attending the meeting in San Francisco.
The practical option is to convert the rail guide way to a 2-lane, HOV(2) Reversible Expressway (no toll) from Kapolei to Aloha Stadium for less than $4 Billion already collected via GET. The two-lane reversible can be used for single passenger vehicles during non-peak hours. Tampa has built a Reversible Express Lane for $42 million per mile in year 2006, see https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LkM-MC3N-oY. The Tampa elevated structure is built similar to the Oahu Rail guide way (see typical cross section for both structures).
The year 2030 downtown-bound commuter demand will be 15,000 commuters per hour above the existing highway capacity, according to the city’s Alternative Traffic Analysis. The reversible expressway can carry up to 17,000 commuters per hour (200 express buses and 3800 vehicles per hour) versus 3,000 RAIL commuters per hour. The express buses can continue on to Kaneohe, UH Manoa, Waiki and beyond. The Reversible Rail will eliminate traffic gridlock at the H-1/H-2 merge.
New buses are 80% Federally funded and would cost the city about $200,000 per bus or $40 million for 200 new buses. HART plans to purchase 80 rail cars at $2.0 million (Oahu taxpayer funded) each for $160 million.
On/Off access ramps can be built at Kalaeloa, Farrington/Ft. Weaver Rd/H-1/H2 merge vicinity and Aloha Stadium.
Eliminate all rail related structures to reduce cost to less than $4 Billion, including Rail stations, parking structures, new power plant for rail, rail cars, rail maintenance facilities, utilities relocation, etc.
Dream on. Nothing you posted can be substantiated by any study. Using an existing guideway built to rail specifications for cars or buses is a laughable fantasy. Real will be finished as planned. It will reduce traffic congestion, provide affordable housing through TOD and deliver a dependable, safe and affordable alternative to commuting by car.
What are so many smelly, unkempt guys doing on buses early in the morning headed to town? City/State government workers? Homeless going to pan handle in Waiks?
Strange…
It’s Rosita that smells. “There is nothing to FEAR except fear itself”.
Ridership will exceed projected levels if traffic is so congested. Traffic can’t get much worse than it is now.
IRT Tomas Belsky: No kidding.
You are right Sheila. The Donald should never be president of the United States. While mocking a person with a disability is bad, I consider ripping off young girls as worse. The Donald is little more than a Con man. Just as I would never vote for Ron Rewald for president, I sure would never vote for the Donald. How sad that so many are taken in by this Con man.
Funny to hear all you talk smack about a person you have NEVER met or worked for. STOP listening to the Media and get some FACTS.
Trump is a great man and very nice as well, just don’t get him mad since he stands up for himself and what he believes is right. Trump LOVES america and its people. We need a Tough leader and a NON-Politican for once. Trump Train is full steam ahead.
He’s so “nice” he can’t stop himself from making racist and misogynistic remarks and encouraging violence against people who disagree with him. He’s been repeatedly caught lying about his charitable contributions, taking credit for those made by others, and using charity money to pay for personal and business debts. Apparently, you are the one who refuses to “get the facts.” Only someone liberated from the facts and reality could post what you did.
He says it Mr.O and Ms. C do it
You are right, I don’t know the Donald. But i think I can recognize a conman when I see one. I sure did with Ron Rewald and the Donald is the same type of individual.
I understand your concerns with Trump, Sheila. Problem is, Hillary is worse.
How so? Can you be specific? I have been uncomfortable with Hillary due to her stands on foreign policy. But I think I would rather have her than some person who will blow boats out of the water because someone gave us the finger.
Trump: “With Iran, when they circle our beautiful destroyers with their little boats and they make gestures at our people that they shouldn’t be allowed to make, they will be shot out of the water,…”
Where in this comment does it say anything about giving the finger. You consistently exaggerate the simplest statements just to fit your agenda.
Windward, Well what do you think he meant when he said “make gestures at our people that they shouldn’t be allowed to make, they will be shot out of the water,…” If he wasn’t referring to someone giving the finger, then what? And is it any different really?
Aggressive gestures with their boats. Haven’t you been reading about those Iranians boats harassing our Navy ships? Reading comprehension fails you again huh?
Funny, Trump has been in the public light for 30 years and he was never accused of all the phobias (sexist, racist, etc. etc.) until he threw his hat in the ring running as a Republican. If he ran as a Democrat, it would be treated as the second coming!
No, he just didn’t open his mouth for his foot as much as he does now politicking.
The problem is…both Trump and Clinton are not worthy of being POTUS.
Well the Donald is definitely not worthy of being POTUS but Hillary is. May not always agree with her but I think she is well qualified to be president. 8 years as first lady, Senator from NY, Secretary of state, How more qualified can a person be?
This is not to say she is perfect, she is not. But who really is? Until Jesus decides to return and run for president, I am afraid we will never have the perfect candidate.
How does eight years of being a first lady qualifies ANYONE to be the POTUS. That’s simply absurd.
Windward, Obviously you have no idea what being a first lady entails. Not an easy job.
Obviously not. Suppose you enlighten me of a few Presidential actions a First Lady does to qualify her for POTUS. Hint: She has no power to make decisions concerning state, federal and international polices as First Lady.
No, that’s not true. Until he decided to run for president, nothing he said or did really mattered.
Trump is a TV marketing genius but that does not translate into being President.
Of course rail is about money. Nothing gets done without money as the objective. How many people will work for free? A decade ago our nation was in the midst of a deep recession. The federal government had been pushing infrastructure projects to boost the national economy and providing subsidies to state and local governments. Rail was decades overdue for our community and this was our opportunity to get our system built at a discount. The Feds were willing kick in $1.55 billion in free money to boost our local economy. Rail and transit oriented development will sustain our economy years to come with many more jobs for out community. Tourists also help subsidize our rail by paying the general excise surcharge. The best part is that rail is absolutely needed to give west side residents a better alternative to driving in horrendous traffic congestion in their long commute to work. We will be riding a fast sleek train whisking us past all the cars stuck in traffic while we enjoy beautiful ocean and mountain views from overhead. With rail we have a great future for our children and grandchildren.
Hey UkuBS…why aren’t you on the other story today addressing the latest to jump ship from the RAIL FAIL FIASCO????
WithOUT rail we will have urban sprawl. That’s a catastrophe.
Rosita, when rail is built, your commute from Kapolei to town will be much better whether you take the train or choose to drive.
Hahahahahahahaha!!! Good one, BS artist!!
BTW – The Rail Fail is gonna be PACKED with a lot of “smelly, unkempt” types as well should it get up and running. Although it won’t be YOU or your little side monkey Weewiliki because I’ll BET you guys will NEVER ride the choo choo
Typical rainbow unicorn defecating Skittles across the sky.How much do you get paid to post this sugar coating over our nightmare?
I agree especially for us kupuna who will have to eventually give up driving.
Lets not forget that HART was deliberately altering invoices to hide information from the board. Dan Grabauskas must be investigated and Mr. Fromby owes that to the people.
It appears that Grabauskas was lied to…
Rail was always about the money. It was a make- work project. The Unions have benefited greatly and large amounts of workers are making money. It is nothing more than that!
He’s an embarrassment! Nothing but a big mouth who talks a big story! Never served in the military, yet talk big? All Waha!
Both Clintons and Obama never served in the military. So what’s your point?
I can’t speak for ready2go, but from my perspective, the point is that Trump should not be doing things like trashing a Gold Star family, or decrying John McCain as a war hero because he was captured and held as a POW. The Clintons and Obama have never done that. If Hillary Clinton had mocked John McCain and his military service, Republicans would be condemning her into oblivion. Actually, if Clinton had said even a fraction of what Trump has said, Republicans would be attacking her as very unAmerican. It is so sad and frightening that people have gotten so accustomed to Trump making derogatory, offensive and divisive comments. He has single-handedly lowered the bar to subterranean levels.
And most of the George “W” administration had enough deferrals and backdoor outs from going to Vietnam that they could have staffed a battalion.
Mathew Johnson: I don’t have a lot of faith in the people of HNL to give Krook the boot. Just too complacent and apathetic.
If he stays and the people get the shaft with more taxes into perpetuity and unions getting fat off their “investment” then it’ll be deservedly so. Notice he doesn’t even come close to addressing his ethically bankrupt actions of continually accepting the Territorial salary all while he ALLEGEDLY serves the people of HNL by accepting our tax dollars!!!
How about we legalize gambling and… 1. Build a Kapolei Casino at the end of the rail line, insuring ridership of rail from town. 2. Hawaiian owned and operated Casino would insure jobs and money for the Hawaiian community and taxes for maintaining rail. 3. Huge casino parking lot would insure “rail riders” had something to do while waiting for ride to town or a little relaxation after work on their way home. (Monthly Rail Pass would double as FREE casino parking pass.) Just think of all the money generated from monthly rail passes alone. LOL. LOL. LOL.
I’ll settle for a Lottery, no more!
Gambling is the only hope to pay for this mess that Crookwell created. Deny it all you want.
Gambling is just opening a new can of worms. I know we can have the Donald run it. lol
The vested interests in Vega$ that bought and paid for our Hawaii politicians won’t allow any legislation even considering a “study” on a lottery or gambling to come up for hearing.
Mathews Johnson. Camels nose under the tent? Where we’re you born? When did you arrive?
Free preschool for needy kids.
Rail was all about Mufi trying to get elect Governor. Don’t forget Caldwell was also knee deep in this mess. Vote Djou.