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A fight with Governor Linda Lingle, who argued that the project was too expensive to justify its costs, ensued. The mayor pushed through the transit tax and won a hard-fought election against a rail opponent in 2008, as well as a voter endorsement of the project. The arrival of Mufi Hannemann in the mayor’s office in early 2005, though, brought significant political support for a new rail line. Previous rail transit proposals were cancelled in 19 and a planned bus rapid transit line was abandoned in 2004. And relatively short extensions west into Kapolei, northeast to the University of Hawaii-Manoa, southeast to Waikiki, and north into the Salt Lake neighborhood would make the line even more desirable if they are ever funded and built.ĭespite the clear need for improved transportation systems in Honolulu, however, the project’s gestation has been difficult. Especially when considering already high ridership along similar routes, the 2030 estimates of 116,300 daily riders do not seem impossible. The alignment, which roughly parallels the curve of the south Oahu coast, hits most of the major destinations in the metropolitan area, including downtown, the airport, and two institutions of higher learning (including one now being built).
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Real construction activity will not begin for several more months. The city, which introduced a 1/2¢ sales tax in 2005, will cover the rest. Of $5.5 billion in construction costs to cover the 20 miles and 21 stations, Washington proposes to contribute $1.55 billion ($250 million in Fiscal Year 2012) - as long as the New Starts program continues to be funded. Thus the likely commitment of the federal government to the rail project sometime in the next year or so is good news for Honolulu and Hawai’i as a whole, since the city serves as the state’s economic engine. Current decentralization trends, pushing habitation into previously untouched parts of the island, will be unstoppable. Without better transportation, the city will not be able to densify further. But the deficit of space means there is no room for expanded roads infrastructure, and the lack of adequate public transit infrastructure operating in its own guideway poses a serious threat to the health of the region. Honolulu is not enormous: The city (officially, the Census-designated place) has about 375,000 residents while the island as a whole has 900,000. And transit is a popular way to get around - The Bus, the local transit agency, carries 236,000 daily riders, and the city has a transit work commute share of more than 10%, which is the highest of any major city without rail in the United States and about the same as the City of Portland. The “Manhattanization” of downtown and nearby Waikiki over the past few decades is representative of this trend. With mountains to the north and the Pacific Ocean to the south, there is little room for the city to expand, so the only place it can go is up. Honolulu and the surrounding municipalities - incorporated into Honolulu County - are hemmed in by a geography whose natural barriers make the tropical metropolis practically ideal for fixed-guideway transit like the system that is now being designed. The massive scheme, which will extend 20 miles from downtown to East Kapolei once construction is finished in 2019, will radically redefine transport on Oahu, offering residents a true alternative to traffic-plagued surface streets and highways. » $5.5 billion, automated rail corridor is expected to attract 100,000 daily riders once it is completed in 2019.Ī week after the Federal Transit Administration recommended it for New Starts funding, Honolulu’s rapid transit project took a step forward today with a ceremonial groundbreaking.