City Council members must do deep investigations into the proposed Kuilei Place project (“State board OKs Moiliili tower,” Star-Advertiser, Oct. 14). And all members who received contributions from the developers, Kobayashi Group, should recuse themselves.

The project would displace hundreds of people now living in the area, exceed height limits by 260%, and surpass density limits by 450%. Its supposed purpose is housing for affordable and moderate-income households. Yet that sounds dubious.

Reports say the project’s apartments would be sold mainly to moderate and “high-moderate” income households. And the tower will have swimming pools and other amenities that would surely increase the purchase price and maintenance fees for each apartment.

Ben Kerkvliet

St. Louis Heights

Denser housing leads to more affordable homes

In its editorial on the proposed condo project in Moiliili (“City needs more from developer,” Star-Advertiser, Our View, Oct. 14), the editorial board said that “it’s difficult to see how displacing the current residents [of the Moiliili site] will help address the crisis in housing low- income earners face in Honolulu.”

Let me explain. Real estate economists have found that affordability depends in part on a process called “filtering”: When new market-rate and luxury units are built, local households that can afford those units trade up from their current — typically older or less spacious homes — making them available to households with less means.

Those households vacate their current units, and so on, until the availability filters down, making room for low-income earners. Thus, increasing density on existing sites is, in fact, a highly efficient and effective way to address housing affordability. A substantial number of low-income units elsewhere in the market become available as a result.

Trey Gordner

Ewa Beach

Add crosswalk lines, or put in speed bumps

I was nearly hit by a driver at the crossing area at the intersection of Kalanipuu Street and Lunalilo Home Road. It was daytime, I was crossing with plenty of space, but she was hitting the gas and not paying attention. She then came to a stop and had the audacity to yell at me that it wasn’t a crosswalk.

You see, a few years back workers painted over the crosswalks for “pedestrian safety,” but so far, much like I said at the time, all it did was make drivers mostly think no one can cross there. I have been assured it is still a legal crosswalk.

I have had many close calls here over the years. Very few people stop to let you cross, and when they do, it’s often dangerous because other drivers still don’t stop. People coming around the bend also do so at high speed and rarely pay attention. This has gotten worse since they painted over the crosswalk lines.

I ask the city to do the right thing and restore the crosswalk paint, or even better, put in one of those speed bumps.

Jeremy Rasor

Hawaii Kai

Bus-only lane on Kuhio will snarl Waikiki traffic

How can a bus-only lane on Kuhio Avenue be compared to the bus-only lane on King Street? It’s like comparing apples to oranges. There are so many more lanes on King Street to absorb the traffic while there is only one on Kuhio Avenue. Kalakaua Avenue often is backed up now and will only be worse when the lane is closed to cars.

One of the reasons given for the bus-only lane is that it will encourage people to use other forms of transportation besides their cars. This will only result in fewer locals wanting to go to Waikiki.

We should do what Washington State has done: Require cars to allow a bus to merge left when their blinker is on. This may not speed things up as much as a bus-only lane, but it will definitely help and it won’t mess up Kuhio Avenue as much. It would benefit routes on the entire island as well.

Peter Anderson

Kailua

‘Park Kokua’ guards can keep local parks safe

How do we fix the forever vandalism, graffiti, drug dealing and homeless abuse at our city and state parks?

There is a direct and effective action that has been at hand for decades.

No, it is not surveillance cameras, not police drive-bys, not closing rest- rooms, and not putting it on the backs of the community.

Hire two or several “Park Kokua” guards for each park.

Equip them and train them. Provide them with quick access to police and emergency mental health facilities.

We need hired people to help us, not just some cheaper, ineffective mechanical solution.

We the people who cannot use our parks, pavilions and restrooms need a people solution.

Nancy Wond

Aiea

Free trade won’t make China a democracy

China’s leader, Xi Jinping, is gaining ever more power, building up his military and showing his true militant Marxist/Stalinist colors.

What prevents China from invading other smaller countries in Africa, Polynesia and more, and flooding them with its own people, like it did with Tibet? Nothing but the military might of the United States.

China is just biding its time, building up economic strength and its military. We were insane to ever have dealt with China and giving away our technology through trade and the stupidity of joint ventures.

The communist party of China is putting all its people under total control of its authoritarian government — trampling human rights, justice and freedom.

We must give up the idea that free trade was going to introduce democracy there.

There is barely time left to make ourselves independent of their products and build up our economic and military strength to counter this ominous development.

Volker Hildebrandt

Kaneohe

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