Honolulu Weekly

John Brizdle’s anti-rail letter [11/4] begs a response. Brizdle, a member of Stop Rail Now, is aware that 40 years of traffic studies on Oahu have reached the same conclusion: rail transit is the best alternative to reduce traffic congestion and make it easier to travel around our island.

The latest federally-approved projections say that rail will reduce traffic congestion by about 20 percent on the crowded Kapolei to UH-Manoa corridor. What the studies show is that there will be less congestion with rail transit than without it, and less congestion with rail than with any of the other alternatives studies. Those conclusions are what led the City Council to select the fixed guideway as the preferred alternative to dealing with traffic congestion.

It is also why Oahu voters decided to move forward with a rail transit, approving an amendment to the City Charter by 53 percent-47 percent: the same margin that our nation elected native son Barack Obama as president.

A recent island-wide survey shows that 60 percent of residents support rail and an even larger margin, 69 percent, think rail is a good investment for Honolulu’s future.

It’s time for Brizdle and his anti-rail minority to recognize that rail will reduce traffic congestion and provide economic, environmental and social benefits for decades to come.

Kirk Caldwell
Managing Director
City and County of Honolulu