Have you checked out The Hot Seat? It's our opinion-page blog that brings in your elected leaders and people in the news and lets you ask the questions during a live online chat.

On The Hot Seat last week was Toru Hamayasu, the city's chief transportation planner. Below is an excerpt from that Hot Seat session. (Names of questioners are screen names given during our online chat.

Rolf Nordahl: In 1992, when rail failed by one council vote, it would have been paid largely with federal dollars. I supported the idea of rail at that time and was disappointed when it failed by that one vote.

Today's train sees a small commitment from the federals requiring a staggering burden on our children and grandchildren to pay for it. After reviewing current discussion and seeing the lack of interest on the part of the federal government, I conclude that a train may not be in O'ahu's best interest.

Did the federal government lose faith in rail as public transport? Are you aware of any of the federally funded trains from that era that are successful?

If we are to have a train, would it not make good economic sense to run between Kapolei, the airport and Waikiki? Visitors would be a steady source of fare-paying passengers. If you did not wish to accommodate their luggage, there are services that deliver. An elevated train ride to your hotel in Waikiki or Kapolei would certainly be more attractive than a bus or taxi in surface traffic.

Speaking of traffic, the city experts claim that rail will not improve congestion. What plans do you have to relieve traffic congestion?

Toru Hamayasu: Rolf, no the federal government has not lost faith in rail ... in fact its subsidy level has grown substantially. There is a new funding program, called "New Starts," and there are many cities across the U.S. using this program both to construct new systems as well as expand existing rail systems.

Cities such as Denver, Salt Lake City, Dallas and others are examples of successful systems. The locally preferred alternative selected by the City Council does go to the airport and Waikiki. We plan to build those extensions after we complete the first phase.

Jonn Serikawa: How many freeways/highways will have to be built to match the capacity of a rail system?

Hamayasu: We estimate, based on the actual number of people in each car during the peak hour, that it takes about six lanes of freeway capacity to match the carrying capacity of a fixed guideway system in one hour.

Dave Rolf: Robert Moses of New York City approved multiple cross-town expressways while that city's subway was being expanded. Shouldn't an overhead expressway be on the table for Honolulu? Legislators keep asking if there is anything that can be done to put the city and the state together to address O'ahu's horrible traffic problems. How many times have you met with the state DOT director in 2007 to discuss traffic congestion relief?

Hamayasu: During the past year we arranged to have a monthly meeting with the state DOT. The development of the highway system falls under the state jurisdiction, while the city is focused on improving transit. If you'll recall, Dave, the managed lane alternative we studied was first developed as a transit facility and it was to be managed so that capacity be available to buses, HOVs and single occupant vehicles paying tolls.

Tina: If the rail does go through Salt Lake, how much disruption will it cause to residents, i.e., noise and traffic?

Hamayasu: Tina, we will be studying the impacts of the Salt Lake alignment in coming months as part of the environmental impact statement, which will be for public review early next year. We stated in the alternatives analysis report that the Salt Lake Boulevard alignment would cause a substantially greater number of noise impacts than other alignments.

Steve Doyle: Mr. Hamayasu, regarding the proposed light-rail transit system, what's it going to be? A route with stops at the airport (akin to what has been done in virtually every major metropolis around the world), or will it be the political "Cachola Route" through Salt Lake?

And how is your input, as an engineer, being treated by the politicians? It seems that some of the folks in Honolulu Hale are sorely in need of adult supervision.

Hamayasu: The Salt Lake alignment is the one that we are focusing our next phase of the study, as it was the one selected by the council. That being said, we made it clear that the airport alignment had a better performance. So we're going to study both the airport, the Salt Lake, and Salt Lake and the airport.

As a technician, my responsibility is to honor the decision of the policymakers. All in all, a majority of the council members treats me fairly.

Tim Hagan: In the discussions of a fixed-rail system for O'ahu, it seems that this particular solution is being proposed in isolation, rather than as part of an integrated plan.

Before returning to O'ahu in '98, I lived in the northern Virginia area, which had a very successful metro system. However, this system would not have been nearly as successful without complimentary systems. In particular, these include park-and-ride lots that allow commuters to easily access rail entry points.

Is there such an integrated plan being developed to increase the efficacy of the proposed rail system, and if so can you elaborate on it?

Hamayasu: Yes, rail is part of an integrated multimodal system. It is hardly being developed in isolation. In the course of the study, we developed a complete islandwide transit network, including the fixed guideway, the buses, the commuter ferry and park-and-ride lots.

We plan to use more than 600 buses as part of the rail system. Four major park-and-ride facilities are planned in West O'ahu.

Terri Ann Yamamoto: Are you personally convinced that rail is the best solution?

Hamayasu: I am convinced that we need a grade-separated fixed guideway system to provide uninterrupted mobility from the traffic, for now, and into the future. My conclusion is a result of studying this issue for more than 30 years. There were times when we had to resort to less-costly options, such as bus-rapid transit when the dedicated tax for transit was not available. But there is no doubt that we need to invest in the future infrastructure to accommodate the future growth on our island.

Bungahead: How much do you estimate the land acquisition costs to be, and what is your basis for those estimates?

Hamayasu: Land acquisition costs we estimate to be somewhere in the neighborhood of $90 million. That's based on engineers' preliminary design.

Resident: Last year people voted for a bicycle- and pedestrian-friendly Honolulu. How is another million-dollar study for a new bicycle master plan better than spending on projects in the existing plan? Couldn't that project money have been multiplied using state or federal matching funds?

Hamayasu: The bicycle master plan, like most any other plan, needs to be updated periodically to meet the changing needs. The plan to update it has been generally well-received by most members of the bicycling community here.

Outside Observer: Do you use TheBus on a regular basis? If not, why not? How many employees in DTS, including the director, regularly commute by bus or by biking or walking to work? If employees drive personal vehicles, are they required to carpool to receive assigned, subsidized employee parking? If not, why not?

Sensible traffic planning begins with you guys. If you're part of the jams, you're a big part of the problem. In other words, why should anyone else on O'ahu use public transit if you don't or won't.

By the way, I hold and use a yearly bus pass.

Hamayasu: I do not use the bus on a regular basis because it takes more than 50 minutes to commute compared to the 10 minutes by car from where I live. But I do use the bus occasionally — and there are many city workers who use the bus regularly.

Pake lady: Why can't the whole system be underground?

Hamayasu: We did investigate the underground options in the Downtown area and concluded that the cost of underground will be in excess of the revenues we can expect. The cost of tunneling is about four or more times greater than the elevated guideway for the same length system.

Tulsi: Why does it have to be so difficult to get from downtown/Ala Moana/ Waikiki to the H-1? It is clear that the rail will not make it easier because the problem is not traffic but rather the routes themselves. Will anything be done to fix these ridiculous roadways? It shouldn't have to be such an ordeal.

Hamayasu: Assuming that the reason that you want to get to the H-1 is to travel east or west of Downtown in our primary corridor, the fixed guideway system should be of help.

There's really nothing wrong with the north-south roadways per se. The problem is lack of capacity. The only roadway solution to lack of capacity is to add more roadway. And that's really not the answer. That would require a tremendous amount of relocation of businesses and residents. We are proposing people-carrying capacity with the transit improvements instead of building more roadways.