Use rail structure as a freeway

In the mayor’s list of things that could be done with this whole rail affair, he failed to list this one: Finish the concrete work and add some on-off ramps and run it as a freeway to and from town. We could run it 10 hours a day each way: 10 hours to town in the morning and 10 hours out after noon. How many lanes could we get on it?

The contractor is over budget working in an open field; can you imagine what it will be when they get in where there are all the underground utilities, traffic and taking of buildings and property?

I am just an old retired construction worker who has seen all the big jobs run over. My guess is that rail will cost $10 billion to $15 billion to finish as planned.

George Margaris
Kapolei

Nanakuli pride overcomes wait

As a proud Nanakuli resident, I was disturbed when I went to our post office to pick up a package. It is a one-man operation with a recurring line stretching out to the sidewalk.

Patrons were patient and compassionate, as is the nature of this community, and waited a minimum of 15 minutes before reaching the counter and our soft-spoken postal clerk.

The post office is open daily 12:30-2:30 p.m. to serve the 12,000-plus people of Nanakuli.

Also, there are zero post- office boxes available.

The Leeward Coast is synonymous with many shortcomings; however, we have learned to make do with what we have and therefore are resilient. Had this been the east side of Oahu, this would have already appeared on the news, as outraged patrons would’ve taken it public.

Then again, that community probably would have prevented it from happening in the first place.

Kim Peterson
Nanakuli

‘Adaptive’ traffic lights would help

Imagine drivers on Kamehameha Highway and Moanalua Roadbetween Aiea and Pearl City thinking they’ve just beengetting lucky with green lights — and as a result, get home quicker to Mililani and farther North or Waikele and farther West.

Butit would all be by design.

Replacing all traffic lights on Kamehameha Highway and Moanalua Road with Adaptive Traffic Lights would dramatically speed up traffic flow.

By doing so, vehicles bound for Mililani and farther north, and for Waikele and farther west, would be encouraged to leave H-1 at the Aiea exitand take Kamehameha Highway or Moana-lua Road

This kind of thing is actually happening today in New Jersey Meadowlands, which serves more than 400,000 vehicles a day.

Adaptive traffic lights synchronize timing based on up-to-the-minute vehicle count, not from preset timing based on a month-old count.

Ruben Reyes
Waipahu

Let psychologists prescribe drugs

Having worked in the rural communities of Hana, Maui, and Molokai island, I can attest to the difficulty that patients have in accessing psychiatric care.

Neighbor islanders are suffering from a 30-40 percent shortage of psychiatrists.

Medical psychologists have prescribed psychotropic medications safely in the military and several states for more than 20 years.

Politics have once again derailed helping the mentally ill, who may have difficulty advocating for themselves.

Legislation to allow psychologists to prescribe drugs passed the state Senate in 2007, 2009 and 2011, but was defeated each time in the House.

This year, the House passed it, but Senate Health Committee Chairman Josh Green refused to hear it.

Thank you to the Star-Advertiser for providing the truth as to why. Lobbying money protects the psychiatrists’ "turf," as mentioned in the article on Green’s campaign contributions ("Senator takes heat from psychologists, retirees on potential conflicts of interest," Star-Advertiser, April 12).

Community advocacy for House Bill 1072 is gaining momentum and will keep growing until patients get the help they need.

Kelly C. Harnick
President, Maui Counseling Centers Inc., Lahaina