To accommodate rail station access and facilitate non‐vehicular circulation, the Kalihi and Downtown Neighborhood TOD Plans recommend creating a multimodal circulation network by improving the street grid and addressing pedestrian and bicycle facility deficiencies in the area. Given the anticipated levels of redevelopment, including major expansion of residential uses throughout the area, circulation is a key infrastructure consideration for the City. The Street Network Plan outlines new facilities to improve connections to the rail stations and provide a finer‐grained block pattern, along with improved sidewalks, lighting, bicycle facilities, and building/street interface. All improvements will also need to be consistent with the City and County of Honolulu Complete Streets Ordinance.

The water system in the area is owned and operated by the City Board of Water Supply (BWS). The backbone of water infrastructure is relatively strong in the area; however, aging infrastructure is an ongoing challenge. Pipelines experiencing frequent breaks, with a high consequence and likelihood of failure risk, will be programmed for replacement and possible upsizing. Water availability is not yet a concern for new development. Multiple projects in the BWS capital program will address current deficiencies and increase capacity. BWS is also updating its Primary Urban Center Watershed Master Plan, in part to reflect new growth assumptions related to TOD.

The City provides sewer service in the area. The existing sewer infrastructure, typically collected by gravity, connects to two pump stations at Awa Street and Hart Street, and continues to the Sand Island Wastewater Treatment Plant. Sewer and wastewater capacity is already constrained throughout the area. With the anticipated increase in residential units, capacity will need to be increased, including upgrades to pump stations and local collection lines

The existing drainage system in the area has various deficiencies and constraints. A large swath of the district lacks adequate slope to channel water to desired areas; there are low‐lying areas where extreme flooding and ponding occur; and the drainage system itself is incomplete and in poor condition. A major deficiency is that the makai part of the Iwilei drainage system is privately owned, and the private pumps are underperforming and are not maintained to City standards. Exacerbating this situation is the oncoming challenge of sea level rise and associated higher groundwater tables, as well as the expected increase in the frequency and severity of flooding events as a result of climate change.

The proposed improvements focus primarily on electrical capacity because current telecommunication technology generally allows Hawaiian Telcom and Spectrum to provide additional capacity to accommodate growth without new infrastructure. Additionally, the City is working to incorporate broadband fiber optic into the rail guideway to increase communications capacity in the rail station neighborhoods.

As part of implementation, and given the magnitude of current infrastructure deficiencies, it is critical that the City and State commit to proactively investing in the Iwilei/Kapalama district over the next several decades. Without this commitment, and given early development interest by several area landowners, there is a risk that projects will be built with only the most basic, piecemeal infrastructure upgrades—resulting in a dysfunctional district with traffic congestion, frequent flooding, brownouts, sewer backups, and more. Buildout of a new urban district takes time and money, but done right, the Iwilei and Kapalama districts can truly become livable, convenient, and transit‐oriented neighborhoods.