It is time to consider ending Honolulu’s rail construction at the planned rail station just ewa of Chinatown. We face an enormous reduction in tax revenue this year, including an estimated $100 million shortfall for the Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation (HART). The COVID-19 pandemic’s economic fallout challenges the viability of the Honolulu rail project as currently planned. Raising taxes for rail would hit Hawaii taxpayers during hard times.
Ending rail at this Downtown location instead of Ala Moana Center makes sense for several reasons:
>> High, unpredictable construction costs for the last part of the HART route through Downtown to Ala Moana Center.
>> Negative visual impacts of elevated rail and stations on central Honolulu.
>> Adverse economic impacts from rail on the Kakaako-Ala Moana area’s residences, pedestrian spaces and businesses.
>> Rail passengers arriving at already congested Ala Moana Center would still need to transfer to other means of transportation to go elsewhere.
>> Most passengers who transfer to/from buses at a “Downtown Gateway” Station will likely reach their destinations faster.
Eliminating the elevated rail route from Downtown to Ala Moana Center will save money for hard-pressed Honolulu taxpayers and would allow the project to be completed sooner. It will also preserve the existing scale and texture of the Chinatown and Downtown area and the historic relationship to Honolulu Harbor.
The traditional Hawaiian “sense-of-place” created by visual links between Honolulu’s coastline and the mountains would be preserved without the elevated rail and station platforms. Many such mauka-makai views are listed as protected in their special design district ordinances, and the integrity of Honolulu’s historic urban fabric and scenery should be protected.
The “Downtown Gateway” (ewa of River Street) location is better for transfers to buses than from either Middle Street or Ala Moana Center. Unlike ending at Middle Street, as some propose, Downtown Gateway is an acceptable modification of the original plan, which links the central part of the city with the airport and West Oahu.
If it is the last elevated station, commuters will be within walking distance to Chinatown, Downtown and the Capitol District. Businesses throughout this area will benefit from more foot traffic. For passengers traveling farther east toward Diamond Head, existing streets provide three major bus express corridors, as shown on the map below:
>> A Makai route (“Red Line”) would provide access to Ala Moana Park and shopping center, Waikiki and Kapiolani Park.
>> A Central route (“Green Line”) would link our primary business, government, civic and cultural centers via King and Beretania streets.
>> A Mauka route (“Purple Line”) would take many cars off the street by connecting the rail with University of Hawaii-Manoa and several other schools.
Buses are better suited than trains for short distances between stops in town, and most people who transfer to buses at the “Downtown Gateway” station transit hub would reach their destinations faster than those transferring at an Ala Moana hub.
A viable new solution for rail is needed. Ending elevated rail at this gateway to downtown instead of at Ala Moana would produce the most benefit for the cost of the hybrid rail/bus system and serve more commuters. It would significantly reduce the time to complete it and avoid the significant negative impacts described above.
Nancy Peacock, AIA, is president of her own architectural firm and is a longtime member of the Hawaii State Historic Places Review Board, the last three years as board chairperson. Janet Thebaud Gillmar, ASLA, is a past president of the American Society of Landscape Architects-Hawaii, and taught landscape architectural design/planning at the University of Hawaii School of Architecture for years.
