COMMENTARY
Transit decisions not made with eye toward political gain
Advertiser Staff
| |||
 |
|
||
|
|||
|
|
||
Each week Editorial and Opinion Editor Jeanne Mariani-Belding hosts The Hot Seat, our opinion-page blog that brings in 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 City Councilman Nestor Garcia, chairman of the council's Transportation and Public Works Committee, who answered questions on transit, sewers and more.
Here is an excerpt from that Hot Seat session. To see the full conversation, go to The Hot Seat blog at www.honoluluadvertiser.com/opinion and click on "The Hot Seat." (Names of questioners are screen names given during our online chat.)
James: What exactly is your position on transit, and why? And as chairman, where is your leadership on this issue please?
Councilman Nestor Garcia: I have from the start supported an elevated, fixed-guideway system as one alternative to deal with traffic congestion, land-use planning and all the concerns related to our heavy reliance on imported oil to fuel our energy needs. As a leader, I try to listen to all sides on issues and take into account each person's concerns. After I've had a chance to weigh the input, I make a recommendation for my colleagues to consider.
Debra: Regarding rail noise, why would you reconsider the recommendation of the transit experts? The new rail system would not be like the old noisy subway systems. Please don't sell us short for your political gains. Please explain your decision.
Garcia: To begin with, I've never made decisions with an eye toward political gain. In fact, if you know me, most of the decisions I've made have had the potential for more risk than reward. To answer your question on the issue of noise, while I do favor steel on steel, I am confident that technology exists to mitigate whatever noise impacts there may be with this technology.
Beth K.: Please tell me why we can't fix our roads and keep them in good condition. It's so terrible on the vehicles.
Garcia: The city roads in our jurisdiction have been aggressively addressed, and I think you will see that reflected in our upcoming budget. In fact, the mayor is proposing around $80 million for reconstruction and/or rehabilitation of streets and concrete roadways. However, I can't speak for the roads that are the responsibility of the state, such as freeways, highways and major thoroughfares.
Bob: Seems to me we got a dumb route by letting the council run amok. Now, we're ignoring the experts and doing the same thing on technology. Why are the most "conflicted" members of the council allowed to dictate the proceedings?
Garcia: I am confident the environmental impact statement will answer all the questions and concerns raised about the route.
Debra K: So please tell us what's the deal with property taxes. Are you folks mathematicians? No offense here, but you might have guessed that many taxpayers don't have much faith in the City Council. Please don't confuse the system and make things worse than they already are. What is your plan?
Garcia: No offense taken, Debra. I think tying the property tax rates to the Consumer Price Index is worthy of further discussion. That being said, we must also be careful about having sufficient funds to pay for needed city services, such as police, fire, garbage collection, parks maintenance, etc., because it is our primary source of revenue. It has been reported that Honolulu has one of the lowest property tax rates in the nation, according to tax policy experts.
Lisa: I think you're doing a great job as chair of the transportation committee (it can't be easy). I just wanted to know what the impacts will be once the rail starts getting built. Are alternate routes being made to help alleviate the horrible traffic (worse than we have now) we will have once construction starts?
Garcia: Thank you, Lisa. I look forward to the day we can start construction, but you're correct, there will be impacts. That is why we're doing a lot of planning and discussion up front to try and recognize the impacts and address them before the project gets built. The discussions regarding transit-oriented developments now taking place in my community of Waipahu are a good example of how we're trying to stay out in front.
Bill: I'm in your district. Any good things happening for us?
Garcia: There are many good things happening in our district. Here are just a few examples:
Jason: What's the deal with the EPA and the waiver I read about in the paper? Who is looking out for the environment? What are the plans here? It is a mess.
Garcia: As chair of the City Council's Transportation and Public Works Committee, I fully appreciate the importance of bringing our island's aging infrastructure up to date. As you may be aware, we have over 318 miles of pipeline that are 50 years old or older, including some 27 miles that are 100 years old or older. Since the waivers were granted in 1991, the city completed significant physical upgrades to the wastewater treatment plants at Sand Island and Honouliuli and further has taken steps to increase the use of reclaimed water. If the EPA prevails against the city, the conservative estimated cost of compliance to the city will be $1.2 billion. Private sector environmental experts agree with the city: the upgrades are not necessary.
Jared S., a student in Mililani: Please ask Nestor Garcia where he grew up, what he did in school to become successful and his advice for seventh-grade people.
Garcia: I grew up in Waipahu in one of the more disadvantaged areas, the Pupu-Aniani neighborhoods. But I never really thought much about it growing up. I just am grateful for the family support structure I had as well as a lot of good role models such as teachers and counselors who believed in me and that I could accomplish much. The seventh grade is a most interesting time in the life of a young person. This is when you will be making some choices that will follow you for the rest of your life. I encourage you to talk to people you admire and get their advice. But most importantly, never lose faith in yourself.
Chicken Grease: There's a radio ad on nowadays that is sort of an infomercial about rail. The female voice-over calls rail only "part" of the solution; if that's the case, why isn't there also discussion about widening our roads (a subject that seems to be swept away anytime it seems to be brought up seriously in Legislature or other political body)?
Garcia: Great blog name. Between now and 2030, there are more than $3 billion worth of roadways projects planned by the city and state. These include widening of H-1 and improvement to the high occupancy vehicle lanes, new interchanges, etc. Mass transit will enable the city to do the kind of land-use planning that will help put jobs and people closer together and remove the need for a lot of travel, it will encourage a multimodal approach toward dealing with traffic, and frees up funds to continue to make roadway improvements I described above.
Chicken Grease: I almost hate to ask this one, but, it's on my mind: We've had funds stated for certain items that ended up being raided. What's to prevent the fund for rail from being raided, especially if new things come up and it doesn't look like rail will be completed? How would funds redirected from rail for other uses be justified?
Garcia: There are specific restrictions placed on the fund by the state and city. Act 247 and City Ordinance 05-27 allows the funds to be used strictly for the operating or capital costs of a locally preferred alternative for a mass transit project and Americans with Disabilities expenses. The money cannot be used for building or repairing roadways and highways, bicycle paths, or any public transportation system already in place on July 12, 2005 — such as the city bus system.
Kailua Karen: What is the benefit to Windward residents regarding rail? It is way too expensive. And how much would it solve?
Garcia: It will help keep Kailua Kailua by focusing growth in central and leeward areas of O'ahu, where 60 percent of the people live and where 70 percent of them work. We could do away with the mass transit project by directing future growth to the Windward and North Shore areas of the island. I hope people will recognize that the council is listening to the folks that want to keep the country country.
Nahoaloha: Councilman, why is the council hesitant to pick steel on steel? The city experts and the technology panel all make it clear that the current technology is nothing like what people imagine when they think of old systems. Even BART isn't comparable to the system Honolulu could get now. Steel would be more competitive to buy, cheaper to maintain and has a long track record (no pun intended) of reliability.
Garcia: While I tend to agree with you and have endorsed the panel's recommendation, as chair of the committee, I must abide by the wishes of my fellow council members, who have asked that we take another look at two other technologies. At my committee hearing on April 3, we will do just that. I hope you can attend the hearing and share your thoughts with us.
