Honolulu already has much invested in the planned multi-billion-dollar rail-transit system, and a lot more is at stake as the long planning process unfolds. Keeping the process on track, so to speak, is critical to having an end result worth all the time, labor and money invested in this major project.

That's what's unsettling about the City Council's hemming and hawing over the rail technology. While that appears to have abated, thankfully, another skirmish erupted over a change in a stop near the 'Ewa terminus.

Asking questions about the zigzags in planning details is fine, but they must not turn into drawn-out dalliances. The focus instead should be on the task at hand: the final selection of the rail technology, a vote set for Wednesday's council meeting.

That vote needs to happen on schedule if the city is to move on toward securing the federal funds Honolulu needs.

Beyond that milestone there are other planning decisions, dealing with where the rail should be elevated and where it might remain at ground level, and other design elements of the rail corridor and stops. That discussion must involve the community if O'ahu is going to end up with "transit-oriented development" that makes sense for each host neighborhood.

The Hawai'i chapter of the American Planning Association released a paper last August that examined how transit-oriented development has worked out for other cities.

Among the important lessons for Honolulu: Cities that began development planning early had greater success creating a flourishing, pedestrian-friendly blend of homes and businesses at stops. The newer lines in Denver, Dallas, St. Louis, Salt Lake City, Portland, San Diego, San Jose and Sacramento offer some success stories Honolulu can model.

Passing the city ordinances that will allow planning to begin must be the next imperative driving the council.

That will be an exciting time, but one that will require the city's taxpayers to oversee the decisions and make sure the system serves their needs above all.

Let's get off the dime and start the real work.