Traffic affects all of us each and everyday. Having grown up on Oahu, I know first hand that the congestion we now face as a City did not develop overnight. Unfortunately, neither will the remedy. There is no quick fix to our congestion dilemma. The solutions rest in a continuous multifaceted and pro-active approach to the problem by both the public and the private sectors of our community. For starters, our efforts should concentrate on improving mass transit options, constructing alternative roadway routes, and adding new jobs within West Oahu.
With the passage of Bill 40, we look towards starting the funding mechanism for our major transportation solution in 2007. Between now and then, must thoroughly examine the potential solutions to best select an alternative that will bring real and meaningful transportation to Oahu. With that in mind, I have undertaken research efforts to understand, firsthand, what the potential solutions might be. This has included a trip to Japan with Mayor Hannemann to test ride their systems, which included monorail, subway, and rubber tire technology, as well as riding the ___ system, which uses electromagnets to "float" the car and propel it along the track. It is with this firsthand knowledge that I will try to best guide the City process of selecting a "locally preferred alternative" for our transportation solutions.
This goes along with other, perhaps smaller but no less important projects to help transportation, such as the Mayor's plan to bring back ferry service to West Oahu, the Pearl harbor bridge crossing, fine-tuning the Bus system, and working to create for jobs in West Oahu for West Oahu residents.
Many of these solutions are long and costly endeavors. Consequently, the City is often forced to pursue one project at a time. For many people this is not an attractive path. Yet, we can all agree, that traffic and congestion are big problems on our Island that must be addressed right away. For that reason, we must remain dedicated at each step along the way. Only with patience, persistence, and community solidarity will we successfully solve our traffic woes.
