ATI The Alliance for Traffic Improvement

Seeking cost effective ways to reduce traffic congestion on Oahu

 
November 2004 stories:

November 27, 2004.
        WHAT WENT WRONG WITH THE IOS/BRT? It has been a debacle from start to finish. Essentially the concept was totally wrong. READ MORE

 BOSTON'S BIG DIG FIASCO A WARNING TO US ALL. Originally projected as a $2.6 project it is now up to $14.6 billion —  and counting. READ MORE.

 OREGON FINDS "SMART" GROWTH NOT SO SMART. Voters take issue on the downgrading of property rights that has been the result of "Smart Growth." The vote on Measure 37 may destroy much of such legislation. Read these   OREGONIAN     NY TIMES

 FROM SPIN TO REALITY.   Remember the original spin on BRT. While everyone had this image shown below in their heads, the City slowly morphed the vehicle into the reality — a bus. A different propulsion system, but still a regular bus.

November 24, 2004.
      ANYONE KNOW ABOUT THIS HYBRID BUS? About three years ago this bus was introduced with the usual fanfare and since seems to have disappeared. Anyone know anything about it?

November 23, 2004. IOS/BRT ROUTE 'E' A DEBACLE. Waikiki is a disaster area, the new buses are increasing traffic congestion even though they are running mostly near empty and behind schedule. It would appear impossible for the 'E' to ever run from Downtown to Waikiki in the scheduled 30 minutes and, in any case, Route B is much faster at 24 minutes. Who benefits from this nonsense? CITY BUS SCHEDULES

November 22, 2004. LAS VEGAS MONORAIL FAILS. It has been nearly three months since the Las Vegas Monorail was taken out of service for technical problems. The builder was Bombardier, a Canadian company, that was involved in the 1992 rail transit efforts. Keep tabs on it HERE   at their website.

November 21, 2004.
      LETTERS TO THE EDITOR. This will be a new feature for residents to let us know in detail what is wrong with traffic in our town. The first is from BEN BENEVENTO of Waikiki.

November 20, 2004.
      WAIKIKI IMPROVEMENT ASSOCIATION LAUDS KUHIO AVENUE. It says, "Kuhio Avenue has been transformed into a pleasant new tree lined and pedestrian friendly environment that integrates the new bus service."  READ IT     Nothing about horrendous traffic congestion. Nothing about the effect of buses on Kalakaua. What has WIA become?

November 19, 2004.
      EDITORIAL: INCREASING TRAFFIC CONGESTION WAS DELIBERATE? It is difficult to believe that the increased traffic congestion in Waikiki was not done deliberately by the Mayor. For him to argue otherwise Harris would have had to believe that the Oahu's entire transportation industry was wrong in its forecast of what the IOS would do to Waikiki traffic, that Dr. Panos Prevedouros, UH Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering, was also wrong about it, and that reducing Waikiki's traffic carrying capacity by 30 percent and adding the new IOS buses on Kalakaua Avenue would have little effect. Harris is just not that dumb. DISCUSSION

November 18, 2004.
      A TURN FOR THE BETTER. In recognition that we have won a significant (though partial) victory, we are revamping our site today to recognize that we are making a transition from being totally focused on our short term goal of fending off the congestion-inducing In-Town Bus/Rapid Transit (BRT) program to our longer term goal of reducing traffic congestion on Oahu.
      The In-Town BRT is dead in the water and no longer a threat even though a partial but very important part of it, the Initial Operating Segment, will operate in Waikiki shortly.
      As we have said from the beginning, the narrowing of Kuhio Avenue and the running of IOS buses on Kalakaua Avenue would be disastrous for traffic congestion — and it has been.
      On top of that the City closed off one lane of Ala Wai Boulevard. In total these changes have reduced Waikiki's traffic capacity by 30 percent.
      Our headline for the past year has been "Why you should oppose the In-Town BRT." From today on it will be "Here's the traffic problem."
      One of the first priorities for Mayor-elect Mufi Hanneman will be to decide on the changes to be made in Waikiki to get the traffic moving again.

TRANSIT BUS (IOS) BEGINS SERVICE TODAY. After two delays due, we hear, to maintenance problems, the IOS begins service today from Aala Park (Downtown) to Waikiki. The scheduled time is 30 minutes to Waikiki and 42 minutes for the return trip . Since the Route B City Express takes 22 minutes to Waikiki and 24 minutes for the return trip,  one might well ask, "What's the point?" Other issues are a) how long will the IOS bus really take, and b) its effects on Waikiki congestion. We'll see.

November 4, 2004.
       WAIKIKI "IMPROVEMENTS" HAVE RUN AMOK SAYS PBN. They say,   " Now such events are adding to the riot of action in Waikiki, from the street performers, handbillers and vendors who clog sidewalks to the beautification projects that block the thoroughfares. What started as a well-intended initiative has now run amok and there's little that city officials or businesses can do to curb the frenzy.
     "Too much of a good thing can be detrimental to the extent that it's a two-edged sword," said Rick Egged, executive director of the Waikiki Improvement Association.  Egged says he's bombarded with complaints from businesses. So is Charles Djou, the city Council representative for the district."  READ "THE REST OF THE STORY"