Makakilo-Kapolei-Honokai Hale Neighborhood Board Opposes HART Rail Project
On Wednesday, October 23rd, the Makakilo-Kapolei – Honokai Hale Neighborhood board passed the following resolution by a vote 6 to 2 in favor of OPPOSING the Honolulu Rail project:
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RESOLUTION OF THE MAKAKILO-KAPOLEI-HONOKAI HALE NEIGHBORHOOD BOARD OPPOSING THE HONOLULU RAIL PROJECT
WHEREAS, this community board is concerned that the current route for Rail will not properly service Makakilo, Kapolei, the Ewa Plain and Leeward Coast residents, and
WHEREAS, this community board has significant concerns regarding the financial aspects of Rail and the lack of accountability to the public, and
WHEREAS, this community board is concerned about any diversion of funds from TheBus, a system known nationally as a success, into a system to support Rail, and
WHEREAS, this community board is concerned about the cost and noise level of a steel wheel on steel rail system and the fact that less costly and quieter options were not considered, and that schools, businesses and homes located along the Rail route will be “negatively”
impacted by the level of noise, and
WHEREAS, this community board is extremely concerned about the traffic conditions during the construction phase and after completion of the Rail project, and that not enough is being done to pro-actively mitigate traffic conditions, and that some of the board requests for
additional pro-active measures appear to be ignored, and
WHEREAS, this community board is concerned that with all the new development projects along the Rail route, a freeway Level Of Service (LOS) D or better cannot be attained during rush hour and that not enough is being done to pro-actively mitigate the current or anticipated
additional traffic flow, and
WHEREAS, this community board believes the Rail system was sold to “voters” as a “traffic solution,” when it now appears to be primarily a “land development tool,” and that expert, census, and government survey data clearly show that the Rail ridership will not be at the level
that the city anticipates, resulting in the system being heavily subsidized, ultimately costing the taxpayers in the form of user fees and taxes; therefore,
BE IT RESOLVED that the Makakilo-Kapolei-Honokai Hale Neighborhood Board states its opposition to the Honolulu Rail project.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that copies of this Resolution be transmitted to the Mayor of the City & County of Honolulu, all members of the Honolulu City Council, the Director of Planning and Permitting, the Director of Transportation Services; the City Planning Commission,
the Board of Water Supply Manager and Chief Engineer, the State Office of Planning, the State Land Use Commission, the State Director of the Department of Transportation, Leeward and Central Oahu legislators, and all members of Leeward and Central Oahu Neighborhood
Boards along with ALL neighborhood board chairs.
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Public Against Honolulu Rail Cost Escalation
http://www.flickr.com/photos/86302364@N02/with/7904814850/
BY PANOS PREVEDOUROS PHD - It is important to understand how much costs escalate in megaprojects. All these costs in bond-financed public projects are to be borne by the taxpayer. Oahu has fewer than 400,000 taxpayers so the possibility of a twelve billion dollar bill for a long rail line presents a staggering liability. Over $30,000 per taxpayer.
In 2005 Mayor Mufi Hanneman and his supporters went to the Legislature and asked for a temporary (20 year) 1% tack on to Hawaii's 4% general excise tax in order to develop a large rail system for an approximate cost of $2.7 Billion. The Legislature approved a 0.5% tack on to the GET in hopes that Federal Transit Administration and other taxes will cover the total. Here is the letter to The Honolulu Advertiser by Mayor Mufi Hannemann promising that the 20 mile system will cost $3 Billion.
In 2008 General Elections there was a City Charter Amendment asking the city to install a steel on steel fixed guideway system. The cost of the 20 mile system had grown to $4.6 billion and almost $1 Billion was the contingency funds. TheBusfunds were not touched in 2008.
In 2010 outgoing governor Lingle procured a financial analysis report for the rail that she had supported, in light of the escalating costs of rail and the 2008-2009 fiscal crisis. IDG, a reputable financial and risk analysis consultant based in Washington, D.C., estimated that the 20 mile cost will be more likely $7.2 Billion.
Despite these facts, Governor Abercrombie signed off on the State EIS and Mayor Carlisle dismissed the financial report as "an anti-rail tirade."
In summer 2012 the City submitted its final application to the FTA for a Full Funding Agreement. In it, the cost of the 20 mile line has grown further to $5.17 Billion but contingencies have been reduced to about $600 Million and another $150 Million is "borrowed" from TheBus fleet funds. In other words, the 2012 cost estimate would be $5.7 Billion if they did not fudge the amounts and kept them at the 2008 level.
In May 2012 Councilmember Kobayashi asked HART to estimate the cost of the full 34 mile system from West Kapolei to the UH and Waikiki. HART's response was $9.03 Billion.
If we apply IDG's cost escalation of the 20 mile system to the 34 mile system we get $12.6 Billion. Hanneman's rail has ballooned from $3.6 Billion to $12.6 Billion!
Rail was a bad idea at a cost of $3 Billion. Now that the likely cost is three times higher, the choice is clear. People have made their choice quite clear by handing both Mayors Mufi Hannemann and Peter Carlisle their walking papers.
Panos Prevedouros, Ph.D., is a professor of civil engineering at the University of Hawaii and past candidate for Honolulu mayor.
