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Light Rail coming to Honolulu


gmat

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disturbman

Thanks for the updates, it's interesting to see what's going on there. I hope the plan won't be shelved.

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Some updates:

 

Council puts rein on rail spending

http://www.staradvertiser.com/news/20110512_Council_puts_rein_on_rail_spending.html

 

 

Group seeks injunction against rail project

http://www.staradvertiser.com/news/breaking/121729089.html

 

Best wishes,

Grant

 

 

And this editorial. Some interesting arguments against:

 

Rail lawsuit filed, financial plan updated

http://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/story/14638278/rail-lawsuit-filed-financial-plan-updatedq

 

Grant

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More news from the StarAdvertiser:

 

Council member wants 'Plan B' in case rail funding is short

http://www.staradvertiser.com/news/20110513_council_member_wants_plan_b_in_case_rail_funding_is_short.html

 

Rail transit rolls forward with stops for questions

http://www.staradvertiser.com/columnists/20110513_Rail_transit_rolls_forward_with_stops_for_questions.html

 

Several articles from HonoluluRailTransit:

 

Construction work updates:

http://www.honolulutransit.org/traffic_updates/

 

From the NewsRoom, including the guest editorial below:

http://www.honolulutransit.org/news_room/

 

Guest Editorial:

SpeakOut

Rail is a Game Changer for the Construction Industry

By Kirk Caldwell, Managing Director, City and County of Honolulu

http://www.buildingindustryhawaii.com/0909/BI0909_70.pdf

 

For perspectives from the other side, HonoluluTransit.com, a Stop the Rail Group:

http://www.honolulutraffic.com/

 

 

Best wishes,

Grant

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Mudkip Orange
The close proximity of the rail line to the Federal Court Building makes the latter vulnerable to terrorist action

 

That is poop. The OKC bombing was the result of a single Ryder truck; the District Court in Honolulu has public streets on three sides, and the parking lots around the building have no barriers so anything capable of making it over a 6" curb and some grass can get in.

 

I fail to see how an elevated rail line out in the middle of Ala Moana adds any kind of risk factor.

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bikkuri bahn
The close proximity of the rail line to the Federal Court Building makes the latter vulnerable to terrorist action

 

That is poop. The OKC bombing was the result of a single Ryder truck; the District Court in Honolulu has public streets on three sides, and the parking lots around the building have no barriers so anything capable of making it over a 6" curb and some grass can get in.

 

I fail to see how an elevated rail line out in the middle of Ala Moana adds any kind of risk factor.

 

Precisely.  The anti-rail people will use anything and anyone to block the building of new lines, including nonsensical concerns such as this.  You can see the same BS static coming from naysayers and nimbys in the CA HSR project, and it will continue.  I'm sure people will oppose a rail line because it causes "stress" to their pet chihuahua...

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Mudkip Orange

I do like how the pro-rail guys have an "un-sign the anti-rail petition" petition.

 

http://www.gorailgo.org/files/GoRailGo-RemoveNamefromAntiRailPetition.pdf

 

 

Definitely taking it up a notch. I was in Seattle for the entire planning phase of SoundTransit and I was in Houston long enough to see the "Metro Solutions" LRT expansion get downgraded to BRT and then re-upped again, and I never saw an "I was blind but now I see" counter-petition.

 

It's funny to visit the Honolulu rail opposition's website and read the same arguments: "19th century technology," "25mph average speed vs. 60 for highways," the same stuff the Cox/O'Toole/Poole crowd was saying 15 years ago.

 

At this point I think the anti-rail consultants just have a bunch of Word 97 documents that they pull up, change a few words, and crap back out again.

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bikkuri bahn
Most residents surveyed want to see the project completed, but they are put off by the system's rising price tag

 

Apparently, the cost of public works projects in the U.S., especially things like rail lines, is the highest in the world (yes, more expensive than Japan).  Something about the bidding process and the way contractors work.

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Mudkip Orange

I have long thought that if I were a mayor or transportation director looking at building an elevated rail line, I'd contract the bridge/viaduct portion out as a road or "busway" and then only layer submit a separate contract for adding rails on top of it.

 

I honestly think it would be cheaper, when you look at the inflationary nature of rail costs.

 

Structurally there should be no problem, being as how we've successfully retrofitted light rail onto all manner of existing bridges (the Main Street Bridge and bayou bridges in Houston, the Steel Bridge in Portland, etc)

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Mayor would veto proposal by City Council to have final say over any spending decisions made by the transit board. I guess over worries about cost spiraling out of control.

 

Battle brews over control of rail transit authority's budget

http://www.staradvertiser.com/news/20110518_battle_brews_over_control_of_rail_transit_authoritys_budget.html

 

Editorial:

Don't rob TheBus to pay for rail

http://www.staradvertiser.com/editorials/20110518__Don_t_rob_TheBus_to_pay_for_rail.html

 

Best wishes,

Grant

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Not much rail news, but some news of political in-fighting between the Mayor and the City Council about who gets final say for the rail budget:

 

Transit board budget drives strain

The mayor has said he will sue over the spending plan OK'd by the City Council

http://www.staradvertiser.com/news/20110621_Transit_board_budget_drives_strain.html

 

 

Carlisle vetoes rail transit budgets, recycling subsidy

http://www.staradvertiser.com/news/breaking/124327424.html

 

Best wishes,

Grant

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The news for the net year or so will probably be dominated by political infighting.

 

Small article.

 

A city councilman says U.S. officials remain committed to rail funding

http://www.staradvertiser.com/news/breaking/124404129.html

 

Followed by a longer editorial.

 

Don't dilute HART's authority

http://www.staradvertiser.com/editorials/20110623__Dont_dilute_HARTs_authority.html

 

Besides the short spur from from Ewa to Waianae used by the Hawaii Railway Society, the only other rail transportation used today on Oahu is the old monorail at Pearl Ridge Shopping Center. It connects the upper mall with the lower mall. When the Center was first built, it was planned to have it run further about a mile east to the much smaller Waimalu Shopping Mall. There was never enough potential traffic to justify the cost, though. Too bad. I am old enough to remember when the OR&LR still had the operation at the harbor and ran pineapples to the Libby McNeil and Libby Cannery. It was just crossing the old Nimitz Highway and in fact hardly ran for more than a mile, but that was quite a thrill for a young kid. When I worked at the cannery in the summer, I can still remember the train pulling up. Wish that I had taken some photos, though.

 

Best wishes,

Grant

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Some recent news:

 

City rejects protests over rail contract, sticks with Ansaldo

http://www.staradvertiser.com/news/breaking/124525059.html

 

Honolulu rail project to get $55M in federal funds this year

http://www.staradvertiser.com/news/breaking/124524823.html

 

Council in gear to reject rail-bill vetoes

http://www.staradvertiser.com/news/20110624_Council_in_gear_to_reject_railbill_vetoes.html

 

U.S. infrastructure's decay is alarming

http://www.staradvertiser.com/news/factsofthematter/20110617_US_infrastructures_decay_is_alarming.html

 

Best wishes,

Grant

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More on the political tug of war.

Mayor to let HART take lead

Carlisle will defer to the new rail agency on possible lawsuits against the Council

http://www.staradvertiser.com/news/20110628_Mayor_to_let_HART_take_lead.html

 

Kalihi is a middle to lower middle income area East and Northeast of the airport.

Kalihi has say on rail development

http://www.staradvertiser.com/news/20110628_Kalihi_has_say_on_rail_development.html

 

 

Googled Honolulu Rail News and found the following:

 

From Channel 2 News

http://www.khon2.com/news/local/story/55M-for-Honolulu-rail-in-current-fiscal-year/bBx2m9LeIEGP8hxrdUz1jA.cspx?rss=1803

$55M for Honolulu rail in current fiscal year

 

From MauiNews:

Honolulu council overrides vetoes on rail line

http://www.mauinews.com/page/content.detail/id/550895/Honolulu-council-overrides-vetoes-on-rail-line.html?nav=8

 

From HawaiiNewsNow:

City looking to alter stream channels for Honolulu rail line

http://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/story/14986235/city-looking-to

 

Small bit from Progressive Railroading:

FTA awards $55 million in New Starts funds for Honolulu light-rail project

http://www.progressiverailroading.com/federal_legislation_regulation/news/FTA-awards-55-million-in-New-Starts-funds-for-Honolulu-lightrail-project--27079

 

Say Yes to the Honolulu Rail System site. Some interesting articles from the pro-rail site.

http://yes2rail.blogspot.com/

 

Hawaii Rail Facebook. Much has been posted previously from the StarAdvertiser.

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Honolulu-Rail-Transit/127002122537

 

 

Apparently defunct site launched by losing bidder Sumitomo Corporation of America. The latest news is dated from February.

The interior of the proposed train had a stand up space for surfboards.

http://honolulurailforgrowth.com/news.php

 

Blog from local resident Ian Lind. From Feb. 24, 2010:

Tracking Honolulu rail news

http://ilind.net/2010/02/24/tracking-honolulu-rail-news/

 

Finally, from the other side.

Anti-rail News:

http://www.honolulutraffic.com/

 

Best wishes,

Grant

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