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City Council Approves Transit 5-4
Oahu Route Will Include Salt Lake, Not Airport
POSTED: 3:19 pm HST February 27,
2007
UPDATED: 7:44 pm HST February 27,
2007
HONOLULU -- The Honolulu City Council on Tuesday narrowly approved a route for a proposed fixed-guideway mass transit that would go through Salt Lake Boulevard and bypass the Honolulu International Airport.Mayor Mufi Hannemann initially proposed a minimum operable segment that was a 20-mile fixed-guideway system from Kapolei to Ala Moana by way of the airport.Council members amended the proposed route last week when it was apparent that the MOS was not going to win approval.
Council members Charles Djou and Donovan Dela Cruz voiced their concern that the MOS did not include the University of Hawaii Manoa campus. They argued that the students would be among the most likely people to use the system.Council Member Voting Results: Tod Apo – Yes Rod Tam – Yes Romy Cachola – Yes Gary Okino – Yes Nestor Garcia – Yes Donovan Dela Cruz – No Ann Kobayashi – No Charles Djou – No Barbara Marshall – No Council members peppered the representatives of the Department of Transportation Services with questions about potential alternatives that included an ammendment to stop short of UH at Puck's Alley.The new route through Salt Lake will save about $100 million compared to the initial $3.6 billion plan.The Hannemann Administration said it is comfortable with the new Salt Lake route because it qualifies for federal funding."No one has gotten their way a hundred percent all the time, but life isn't that way, and so we didn't get out first choice. We got our second choice and the second choice of course is that will meet the federal criteria and that was very important to me," Hannemann said.Some council members and representatives of DTS said that some of the alternatives that included going to UH Manoa did not qualify for federal funding.The next step is for the Department of Transportation Services to conduct a environmental impact statement that will look at the engineering that must be done along the route. The administration's goal is to break ground by 2009.
Previous Stories:
- February 22, 2007: Council Rejects Mayor's Transit Proposal; Salt Lake Added
- February 14, 2007: Kapolei-Ala Moana Transit Route Advances To Final Vote
- January 30, 2007: Mayor Proposes Kapolei-Ala Moana Transit Route
- December 22, 2006: Honolulu City Council Delays Final Vote On Transit System
- December 8, 2006: Mayor Happy Council Chose Rail Transit
- December 8, 2006: Council Advances Rail Transit Project
- December 7, 2006: City Council To Vote On Transit
- November 14, 2006: Mayor Says Poll Shows Support For Rail Transit
- November 1, 2006: Council Questions Hannemann Administration On Rail Transit
- October 31, 2006: Lingle Says No New Taxes For Higher Transit Cost
- October 30, 2006: Study Recommends Rail Transit; Cost Escalates
- June 7, 2006: Mayor Accuses State Of Delaying Transit Tax Collection
- March 23, 2006: City Releases Maps Of Possible Transit Routes, Stops
- August 23, 2005: Honolulu Mayor Signs Transit Tax Hike
- August 10, 2005: City Council Approves General Excise Tax Hike
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