Honolulu light rail breaks ground

Could the Third Time Be the Charm for Honolulu Rail?

Wednesday, January 04, 2012

Jim Loomis, Hawaii’s Representative on NARP’s Council, penned the following in response to the New York Times’ coverage yesterday of the controversy surrounding Honolulu’s first rail transit line, whose construction will start this spring:

Dignitaries break ground for the rail transit line on Feb. 22, 2011. [Image: Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation]

Honolulu nearly had its transit system twice before. The first time was back in the 1970s when the federal government was not just willing, but eager to pick up 90 percent of the cost. On both occasions, however, the project died, falling just one vote short on the City Council.

It does indeed look as though we will finally get our transiit system this time, but we’re still trying to deal with the same kind of hysterical opposition that is battering the high-speed rail project in California. It’s been coming from the anti-government ideologues, from out-of-power politicians using the issue to attack incumbents, from shockingly misguided environmentalists, and various others.

As diverse as these groups and individuals may be, they do have one thing in common: none has offered any serious alternative transportation solutions for moving an expanding population in the decades ahead. Still, it does appear that the third time will be the charm and Honolulu will finally break ground for the rail project sometime in the next several months.

Posted by Malcolm Kenton

Tags: hawaii, honolulu, new york times, rail controversy, rail transit, transit critics