You can check out my thoughts about building light rail on Oahu at
http://www.hawaiireporter.com/story.aspx?e801cca5-cbf2-4882-8a14-9a57607c7340
Within the last decade, there has been major growth in West Oahu. Yet, the same people who moved to West Oahu still work in Honolulu, causing major traffic jams.
Because of this, many have supported the idea of light rail. Many have been dreaming of a light rail that runs from the Leeward side to downtown Honolulu or even to the University of Hawaii-Manoa. Those people believe that with the light rail, thousands will stop driving and ride on the rail. It should also be a faster ride. It sounds like a great idea.
But every great idea comes with its own dark sides. One of the commonly mentioned dark sides is the cost. Millions upon millions of dollars will be required to build the light rail. Our state is already in a deficit, taxes already high, yet people demand construction of light rail without decreasing the budgets of other government projects.
The government is not a bottomless pit of money, it comes from taxpayers' pockets.
We will have to pay even higher taxes on our income, property, food and other products. We will do this on top of the already high cost of living in Hawaii. That means more of my generation moving to the mainland while the rest of us are stuck with this burden.
Let's not forget that the H-3 freeway went way over-budget and took forever to build. Do we want to repeat the same history with light rail?
But what about federal money? Federal money doesn't come without its costs. The federal budget is determined by Congress and approved by the President. In Congress, the mentality is "I'll vote to fund projects in your state only if you vote to fund projects from my state."
And in Congress, to get funding for a light rail built in Hawaii, our representatives must approve of other pork barrel projects in other states. This means our taxes pile up.
But there's an even darker side to this light rail proposal that is rarely brought up in editorials. Where will they build the light rail?
They'll build it in locations where real people have their homes and businesses. It could be your home or your business that will be confiscated by the government through eminent domain. Your whole way of life will be ruined, all because of the utopian fantasies of others. It wouldn't matter if the government gives you the full monetary value of your property when they confiscate it. Your home is more than its monetary value; it's your memories, your way of life and a lot of other things that money can't buy.
I'll definitely be worried if the light rail runs to U.H. since I live in a leased apartment near U.H. Even if the freeways have been built on confiscated land, we don't have to commit the same wrong in the 21st century. The ends don't justify the means.
Of course, where is the support of light rail coming from. A lot of the support is coming from the commuters from West Oahu. A lot of them support light rail thinking it'll get other cars off the road so they'll get more room to drive. But thousands are thinking the same thing, so I don't predict much reduction in traffic.
However, we on Oahu already have an alternative to using a car to commute. It's called TheBus. I ride the bus myself and we could use more buses on this island. Plus, we don't need land confiscation for more buses. In fact, I believe we ought to allow private bus lines to compete with our city-subsidized bus system. This way, more people can get served and there will be new routes.
And the private bus operators can choose what union to negotiate with, or choose non-union workers. But don't expect that anytime soon, since the Teamsters union will go to great lengths to keep that from happening. After all, with private competition, the Teamsters will no longer get the satisfaction of holding Oahu hostage like they did last year with the bus strike.
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