TRANSIT

O'AHU SHOULD BE WARY OF OVERDEVELOPMENT

Peter Chisteckoff made some good observations in his Aug. 24 letter about Mayor Mufi Hannemann's conviction in having rail as the answer for traffic woes.

I happened to witness this "strong conviction" at a meeting held on the Windward side to inform residents about transit options. I suppose our naivete was in thinking our opinions even mattered.

The first two questions to the mayor were about concern with overdevelopment on O'ahu once the train was in place. He did not seem to catch on, so I attempted to clarify the point by using the example of the Washington, D.C., beltway area, where I lived from 2001 to 2005. I explained that the Metro system there is well-used but rampant overdevelopment had taken over. At that point I was abruptly cut off.

It is true that the Metro trains are well-used, but because the development around the system has mushroomed, traffic is worse than ever.

Residents here have every right to be wary of anything elected officials try to impose that will be as dramatically changing and costly as this idea is.

KALAHEO

BIKE LANE MIGHT MEAN LONGER ROAD CLOSURE

Regarding Mike Leidemann's Aug. 24 article on Kailua residents wanting the city to fully restore the bike lanes on Kalaheo Avenue:

I, too, love biking and wish the city had fulfilled its promise to complete the road to its original condition.

If the city actually decided to complete the bike lane work on Kalaheo, it, no doubt, would have to shut down the road for another seven years.

AIRLINE

CUSTOMER SERVICE NOW LACKING AT HAWAIIAN

My wife and I are both frequent business travelers and have been Platinum members on Hawaiian Airlines for many years.

We love the friendly faces and great service we received until recently.

Hawaiian Airlines has made the unfortunate decision to move its reservations and customer-service centers to another county, where the primary language is not English.

Now there is no customer service. Calls that once took five minutes to complete now take hours, often without having any results obtained.

I called the customer advocate line and was told someone would be back to me within 30 days. How is that advocacy?

With the steep competition in the airline industry in Hawai'i, the last thing Hawaiian Airlines should do is outsource its reservations and customer service.

If you have tried to call lately, you know what I am talking about. How does this ridiculous decision make Hawaiian Airlines "Hawaiian?"

READERS REACT TO SUPERFERRY

MAUI INFRASTRUCTURE NOT IMPEDED SUNDAY

I was a passenger aboard the inaugural voyage from Maui to O'ahu on Sunday.

I have never experienced a smoother, more trouble-free and relaxing mode of transportation.

The Maui infrastructure was not impeded in any way, there were no traffic jams, lines or traffic problems of any kind. In fact, I had to call the police to inquire where exactly they were loading as there were no signs of unusual activity anywhere in Kahului.

Since the Sierra Club and the environmentalists are advocating the enforcement of a restraining order preventing this long-awaited and much-needed service on Maui, who will advocate enforcing the laws preventing those confused souls on Kaua'i from illegally interfering with harbor transportation right of way?

Shame on the U.S. Coast Guard for allowing this law-breaking group of short-sighted individuals to control our harbors. If we are going to enforce some of the laws concerning this mode of transport, let's enforce them all.

Is it any wonder the investment environment in Hawai'i is suspect at best, when a $300 million expenditure is jeopardized by this small but very loud coalition?

WHY SO MUCH HATRED, SO LITTLE COMPASSION?

With all the protesting of the Superferry, I'm amazed that we are not able to get together like this to protest the drugs and homeless here in Hawai'i.

Why do we have to have so much hatred, instead of compassion and understanding and the respect of others?

KAMA'AINA DESERVE SUPERFERRY OPTION

I want to go on the Superferry one of these days.

On the Mainland, you can get in your car and travel through several states. I want the option of interisland travel via the Superferry, which includes passengers and vehicles.

I want to travel and see spectacular Kaua'i, Maui and Hawai'i with my own car.

We kama'aina deserve this interisland option with the help of the Superferry. Imua, Superferry.

PROTESTERS ON KAUA'I HAVE LOST THEIR ALOHA

Where's the aloha? Why did the protesters take their frustrations out on the passengers of the Superferry? Aren't we all people of Hawai'i, despite living on different islands? Don't we all share similar values?

It was sad to see on the evening news a few people on Kaua'i attacking that vehicle. Did they do something to you to deserve that? If so, I stand corrected. If not, shame on you.

Please don't forget how many people came from Honolulu to help the people of Kaua'i when Hurricane Iniki came through. I was one of them. We came from a different island, but we came with the same spirit.

The protesters should come to Honolulu and set up camp in front of the governor's mansion and the state Department of Transportion. Direct your anger and frustration to the parties responsible, not the innocent. Where's the aloha?

STATE, FERRY TOLD MAUI, KAUA'I HAD CONCERNS

Your Aug. 28 editorial made it appear that the Superferry was blindsided at the last minute, but that is far from the truth.

Just because the environmental assessment issue did not make it to the Supreme Court earlier does not mean that the Lingle administration and the Superferry didn't have ample indications that an assessment should have been conducted.

You state that "community involvement is crucial in any major project," and this is where the state and Superferry failed.

They ignored Neighbor Island concerns from the beginning. And it was not just small groups and individuals who expressed concerns, but also the county governments.

There should have been an EIS two years ago, because it was more than clear that there were major concerns in the communities the Superferry hoped to serve.

PROTESTERS SHOULD BEHAVE MORE CIVILLY

Let's hear input from the residents of Kaua'i who were born and raised there.

"Invasive species" could refer to those protesters who were yelling and pounding on cars of innocent Superferry passengers. Is this how you welcome visitors or residents?

During the last hurricane, did we not help by sending O'ahu employees from Hawaiian Electric, Oceanic Cable, Hawaiian Telephone, roofers and general contractors?

Would you yell at them or treat them differently should the need arise again?

Leave your Mainland attitude elsewhere. If you want to protest, come to O'ahu, visit your state Capitol in Downtown Honolulu and do it in a much more civil manner.

Don't forget — you have to book a flight, rent a car and maybe a hotel room if you don't have family here.

FERRY HAS ONLY ITSELF TO BLAME FOR PROBLEMS

Please stop blaming others for the Superferry's problems.

Concerned citizens on all islands demanded years ago that the Superferry conduct an environmental impact statement.

Anyone who knows anything about the state EIS law should know that state sponsorship of the Superferry project triggered environmental review. The same would have applied to cruise ships or any other new harbor user in the same situation.

Instead of following the law, the Superferry hired sophisticated law and public relations firms to help them evade it.

They were arm-in-arm with the state agency, arguing that community members didn't even have standing to enforce the law in court.

Had the Superferry spent all that time and money doing the required EIS, they would have been done by now and free to operate without undue risk to our environment and rural communities. But no, the Superferry wanted to do it the hard way.

They got away with it for years. But, as I warned in a letter published months ago (Advertiser, March 31): Should the Hawai'i Supreme Court set them straight, "no one should be surprised — especially the state administration and the Superferry."

The Superferry took a calculated business risk and lost, and now have no one to blame but themselves.

When will developers finally learn to stop cutting corners with the law and our environment?

KAUA'I HAS FORGOTTEN O'AHU CAME TO ITS AID

Count me in as a concerned citizen regarding the Superferry's possible impact on our environment, but please do not include me in for the irresponsible, outlandish and unforgivable treatment of the local people as they were disembarking from the ferry in Nawiliwili Harbor.

Peaceful protest is just that, peaceful. Yelling obscenities, vandalizing property, and terrorizing parents and young children sure doesn't sound peaceful to me.

How dare the people of Kaua'i treat local people this way? It was not long ago when people of O'ahu came to their aid after Iniki. Auwe! You forget so easily.

FERRY OFFERS EFFECTIVE EMERGENCY TRANSPORT

How short is the memory of our people.

When Hurricanes 'Iwa and Iniki struck a few years ago, one of the first forms of relief was the Navatek, which loaded provisions and traveled to Kaua'i that very evening.

The Superferry provides an effective alternative for immediate transportation of rescue and relief assistance in the wake of a another natural disaster.

The issues raised by opponents are real, and can continue to be addressed and easily resolved.

Stopping the ferry at this point is pure political theater. It is time for leadership at the highest levels. Who will rise to the challenge?